


Conflict of Interest

by Aladris



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - High School, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fem!Gon, Genderbending, Rule 63, fem!Kurapika, gang rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aladris/pseuds/Aladris
Summary: Gon Freecss is your ‘typical’ teenage girl. She fights against the infamous gang of students, the Ryodan, alongside her closest friends. She's the daughter of a crazy politician slash philanthropist who has too many enemies to count. And oh yeah, she might just be in love with the assassin who's been hired to kill her.
Relationships: Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fem!Gon, fem!Kurapika story. I read Nispedana's story, [The Hunter Club](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8584101/1/The-Hunter-Club) where she does some genderbending like this, and I thought, what a great idea… there's this high school AU plot bunny that's been ravaging my brain for awhile but I couldn't properly form it into something I liked. When I read The Hunter Club and got inspired by the genderbending, I thought, maybe this is the missing piece.
> 
> So here we go :) Hunter x Hunter belongs to Mr. Yoshihiro Togashi.

A dark-haired girl of sixteen years old sat back in her chair, tipping it back on its hind legs. She could easily hear Mito-san's voice in her head, imagining that the older lady was scolding her for her carelessness.

_Gon! If you keep doing that, you'll fall on your head and split it open!_

Gon sat forwards, letting all four legs touch the floor once more. She sighed. She wondered when the next time she could go home would be. Maybe spring break, that was coming up. But first she'd have to get through a whole slew of exams… and that train of thought brought her back to reality, and the reason why she was here.

In the library.

To study.

Right.

As if he could read her mind, her classmate sitting beside her gave her a look, raising an eyebrow at her. She gave him a sheepish smile.

"Are you really studying, Gon?" Zushi asked her in a hushed whisper.

"Eh, not really," Gon admitted, scratching the back of her head. She wasn't one to keep the truth from others and even if she tried, she knew from past experience that she'd easily be seen through. She was really bad at lying.

Zushi gave her an understanding smile, like that was to be expected, and he closed his book with his pencil. "Me neither. I'm tired." He yawned demonstratively. "Did you want to grab dinner together at the dining hall?"

Of course Gon did. She loved spending time with Zushi, who was one of her closest friends at school. She could already imagine the text she would send to Leorio and Kurapika as well, inviting the two older students to join them. However, Gon had to remember the real reason why she was staying out late today.

The studying was only a guise, to pass time until night fell.

She shook her head at Zushi, expression apologetic. "I'd better stick around a bit longer. I can never get any studying done in my room for some reason… but you should take a break, Zushi," she encouraged him brightly. Even if Zushi refused, she would insist until she got her way. There was no way she would put a dear friend's life at risk. Not if she could help it.

"Are you sure?" He looked skeptical. Gon nodded with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm, probably looking somewhat suspicious. Zushi sighed anyway, already resigned. He stood up and began to cram his numerous books into his backpack. Somehow, miraculously they were able to all fit and he pulled the zipper around them. "Don't work yourself too hard," he reminded her gently.

She saluted him in reply. "See you later." She watched her classmate walk out through the old, wooden double doors.

A glance at a nearby window told her it was nearly dusk. She'd just have to kill a little more time before heading outside. She didn't want anyone else to get caught up in… whatever trouble it was, that had been following her for the past few days.

The first time she sensed something was off was in the middle of the night, about four days ago. She was sleeping quite peacefully, rather blissfully oblivious to the world in her usual way, when something woke her up. An unsettling feeling, like she was being watched. She didn't activate her en because she didn't want to wake up the others in her dorm. And besides, she couldn't actually feel any aura or an unusual presence. Someone was probably using zetsu to conceal themselves from detection, but Gon was extremely observant and intuitive, allowing her to pick up on the presence of most others even if they were employing zetsu.

She'd checked her windows, her door, even went out on the balcony for a moment to survey the area, her senses on high alert. As was expected, she saw no one, and the unsettling feeling quickly left her.

She would have thought it was a fluke, that she just imagined it, if the same thing didn't happen the next night. Someone who wasn't supposed to be around the dorms was definitely prowling around, in the middle of the night. Everything about that screamed danger to Gon. Of course, she was a bit (a lot) of an adrenaline junkie, so this new development rather excited her instead of making her scared. She also had a gut feeling that this person, whoever they were, was targeting _her_. Because when she asked her friends if they had sensed anything strange the following morning, they had no idea what she was talking about.

Anyways, Gon didn't like her sleep being disturbed but it didn't seem like the person would reveal their presence to her any time soon. So she decided to take matters into her own hands. She would intentionally put herself in a dangerous situation to lure her follower out.

Gon stared out the library window some more, grimacing when she felt her stomach start to complain. Loudly. A student sitting a few desks away from her shot her an offended glare. She grinned at him sheepishly before wandering off in search of a vending machine. She bought a bag of crackers called 'goldfish' but they didn't taste fishy at all, much to her disappointment. They didn't taste like anything really, except salt.

Once nine o'clock rolled around, she glanced out the window to make sure it was good and dark outside. The library itself was rather empty at this point too, since it wasn't Sunday or anything so people had no reason to cram. Nonchalantly, Gon stood up, stretching her arms over her head before packing up her things and heading for the exit. The early spring night was chilly and a little breezy, ruffling the stands of her high ponytail. The stars were bright in the partly cloudy sky.

She stuck her hands in the pockets of her skirt, whistling a cheerful tune. She purposely cut a path through the campus that was devoid of people and prying eyes. She knew she'd gotten her follower to bite though, when she felt that unsettling presence again. It had become rather familiar to her in recent days. She suppressed the spark of excitement which ran down her spine, forcing herself to appear oblivious.

As she walked under the glow of a lone streetlamp, she felt the concealed presence intensify until something was knocking her back, lifting her airborne. She brought her forearm to her chest right before the hit landed on her, protecting her from taking any damage. As she landed, she squinted, eyes flicking around to locate her assailant.

"So you've finally decided to show yourself?" she goaded them, as her gaze finally landed on the only other physical presence in this vicinity. Amazing, even with this person right in front of her, it took her several seconds to find them. Only a professional assassin could be capable of such a trick. She swallowed, feeling even more excited than before.

The assassin made no reply, avoiding the glare of the streetlamp to stick to the shadows. Even in the darkness, Gon could make out the details of their appearance. The assassin wore a hood, hiding their hair and a scarf, obscuring the lower half of their face. She could make out their eyes though, slanted and icy cold, almost glowing with bloodlust. She shivered.

This person was tall too, several inches taller than herself. Long legs and graceful, pale fingers, shaped into claws. She blinked.

"Hey, you're around my age, aren't you?" The assassin had been prowling towards her slowly, silently, like a predator. But this outburst made them falter for a brief moment. She continued to observe them without fear, only open curiosity.

"Your eyes, they look cold, like the eyes of a killer." There was no mistaking the bloodlust there. "But I could also tell from your gaze, you're young."

The assassin still said nothing, and Gon realized that they must be withholding their voice, trying to keep every part of their identity hidden, as much as they could. Undaunted she continued, "If we're the same age, then you're skilled. Really talented! Like what you're doing with your hands, and the way you hid yourself from me in plain sight."

Her assailant could only stare at her, dumbfounded as she cheered, "That's amazing!" Most of the bloodlust had left their eyes at this point in her monologue, replaced by utter disbelief. Gon began to grow a little self-conscious under the disbelieving stare, especially when it continued, unbroken, for half a minute. She scratched her cheek.

"You're a professional assassin, ne?" The other person did not confirm nor deny this. "Would you tell me who put a hit on me?" No response. "Please?"

Finally, the assassin seemed to recover their senses. They shook their head as if to shake off a daze, before focusing their eyes on Gon again. The bloodlust was back and Gon could easily sense it, tensing up to either counter or dodge the incoming hit.

Gon's eyes were sharp, her senses extremely heightened, but even so she could not see the assassin approach her until they were literally right in front of her. Reflexively, she protected her vitals with nen. There was no time to do anything else, and she was blown backwards by the sheer multitude of punches she suddenly found herself taking.

She did a backflip in the air, landing solidly on her feet while her brain was working on overdrive, processing information from her five senses. She could sense the assassin's aura now, they were no longer using zetsu. In fact, their body gave off this strange, bluish sort of glow that reminded Gon of lightning. This person, her assailant apparently had some nen ability which allowed them to move extremely fast. Gon had trouble keeping up with them and this was really saying something. She had one of the sharpest pairs of eyes in the whole school and, given the special status of their school/student body, this was impressive.

However, she noticed something else that could be used to her advantage. The rapid hits that had landed on her were not so powerful. The first one she'd taken had been, but the ones following in quick succession were much weaker. The only purpose they served had been to disorient her.

This was proven when the assassin rushed her a moment later, just as she got back into a defensive stance. She felt the air beside her jaw compress, and she leaned backwards to dodge the uppercut, before a leg swept out to knock her off her feet. Gon jumped up, backflipping again, blocking a punch to her ribs with a reinforced arm before setting up a quick counter with her own fist. She grinned in satisfaction as she felt her knuckles connect sharply with her assailant's stomach, only for long fingers to tightly grasp her wrist, holding her in place. The next moment, she felt a very unpleasant, tingly sensation racking through her body, as if she'd just touched a live wire. She convulsed, falling to the floor. The assassin wasted no time in pinning her down.

Wrists trapped under a single hand, the assassin stared down at her, sharpening the nails of their other hand into points sharper than knives. Gon struggled in vain against their grasp, wheels spinning in her head, intuition raising red flags everywhere. She stopped struggling, zeroing in on the hand pointed down at her chest before she realized what her assailant was going to do. Her mind quickly formed two plans of action. One, she could focus every bit of her nen to her chest, protecting her heart from what would be a fatal blow. Or two, she could simply twist a bit out of the way…

The assassin's eyes caught hers for a split second, flashing strangely, before they plunged their hand downwards towards her chest. Gon twisted her torso just enough…

To avoid the hand piercing through her heart.

But not her shoulder.

She screamed, pain exploding through her upper body. The realization of what had just happened hit her equally as hard as the pain, but she pushed that aside for now. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the wrist that protruded from her chest, crushing the bone under the force of her grip. The assassin made a noise of discomfort and she bit back a scream as she pulled their hand out of her wound, kicking them off and sending them crashing into the trunk of a tree. Before the assassin could recover, she was beside them, gripping them by the throat, squeezing just enough to let them know their life was in her hands.

Blood was leaving her fast and she could feel it, how faint she was getting. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, keeping her standing. She needed just a few more moments. 

She leaned in closely, face inches apart from the masked figure. She forced her eyes to focus on those staring back at her. They were blue, she realized and they didn't seem fearful, even when she had her hands around their throat. Instead, they were watching her with some strange sense of… respect maybe? Or fascination? Or maybe the blood loss was truly messing with Gon's head. Her eyes flicked down to the scarf covering the assassin's mouth and she felt the strangest urge to pull it down, to see what they looked like.

Yeah, it was definitely the blood loss. She'd better hurry this up.

"Tell me who hired you to kill me," she ordered, fingers tightening around the assassin's neck just the barest amount.

"Why?" 

Gon blinked. Her assailant just spoke to her and… that was a boy's voice. It was low and quiet, barely above a whisper. Maybe that was all he could afford at the moment, his airways being constricted. But it was a kind of low alto or high baritone. An adolescent male's voice. The boy surprised her even more when he said, "Why does it matter? Kill me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not going to kill you." His eyes flashed with surprise. "We're the same age. I won't do that." As if to prove her veracity, she dropped her hand from his throat and stumbled backwards, the static in her brain growing increasingly loud. The assassin brought his own hands to his throat protectively, before he stared at her. She was panting, fighting to keep herself standing, blood letting out and dripping around her battle bruised body. 

"Shit." Gon gritted her teeth, leaning against the closest tree trunk before sinking to the ground. Maybe she'd had less time to get the information out of him than she'd thought. Even as she lost consciousness, she said, sounding like a broken record, "Tell me who… put it on… the hit -- " She might've imagined it but as she slipped into darkness, she swore she felt something press under her back and legs, and soon she felt like she was drifting off, being carried away on the wind.

She surrendered completely to the pleasant feeling. 

**********

She spent four days recovering at the school's health center. How she got there was a mystery. The nurse said that someone in a hood and scarf had carried her through the doors, making sure she got into safe hands before disappearing without a word.

It was a mystery to everyone except Gon, of course.

Leorio, Kurapika, Zushi and Senritsu among others came to check up on Gon. This was not Gon's first stay at the school hospital, nor would it be her last. Given her penchant for fighting and the fact that she was best friends with Kurapika, she was bound to end up in a hospital bed on a semi-regular basis. Gon had to admit that this wound was a bit more severe than the ones which came before it, however.

Either way, neither Leorio nor Kurapika seemed surprised when they came to visit her the day after she sustained her injuries. Leorio took a look at the medical report left on the counter and his face paled when he read it.

"Gon," he said, his eyes narrowing at the patient who was reclining in bed, looking at him with overly innocent eyes. "Who did this to you? This is no regular street fight injury."

"It was," she said nervously, averting her eyes. A dead giveaway that she was lying. Kurapika and Leorio sighed, the former rubbing her temples while the latter felt the veins in his neck popping. Really, the two were like parents to this overly rambunctious and trouble-seeking teenager. If pressed about it though, they wouldn't have it any other way.

"We just got really… serious towards the end." Gon let out a nervous chuckle and 'the parents' let it slide, deciding to give Gon a break, seeing how she was freshly injured and everything.

Zushi brought over her homework and shared his lecture notes with her, since they were in so many classes together. So for four days, she occupied herself with catching up on schoolwork, trying to study (keyword trying), and shooting the breeze with her visitors. There was still plenty of downtime however, and she spent more of it than she'd like to admit, thinking about the one who had tried to kill her.

… Actually, had he been trying to kill her?

There was a point during their fight, the most crucial moment when he'd had her life in his hands. Gon knew it would be a gamble, to try to avoid the blow to her heart and turn her loss into a gain. Everything had gone as planned, surprisingly enough. But she had calculated, had taken note of just how much she had to maneuver in the assassin's grasp, in order to avoid a fatal blow.

When his hand pierced her chest however, she realized that he missed her heart by a significant margin, meaning…

He hadn't been aiming to kill her. Which was very puzzling.

She wondered if he would attempt to take her life again. In some strange, semi-masochistic sense she honestly hoped he would. She wanted to fight him again. He was strong and… well, she also wanted to know more about him. Not as a fighter, but as a person.

Such a young assassin, she'd never been on the receiving end of a gaze as cold as his. Yet… there were moments during their fight where the cold facade slipped, and the look in his eyes seemed almost human. 

Gon was very curious about him.

But, that was neither here nor there. There were more important things to think about. For instance, the fact that someone wanted her dead. She could only think of one reason why.

Sighing, she reached across the table beside her hospital bed, curling her fingers around her beetle-shaped phone (an old birthday gift from Leorio). She resigned herself to making this call, though she didn't really want to. But even if it turned out that this mystery assassin disappeared and she never saw him again, Gon was still alive while someone wanted her dead. She had no doubt that the person who'd put a hit on her would just hire someone else to do the job. She'd have to get to the root of the problem and deal with it there.

She pressed her phone to the shell of her ear, picking at the clean linens of her mattress as she listened to the ring out. "Come on," she whispered under her breath. "Pick up, old man."

Finally, her patience was rewarded with a very disgruntled voice. "Hello?" The simple word was spoken most reluctantly, almost unintelligible.

"Ging? It's me."

There was silence for a moment. "... Kiddo, what did I tell you about calling while I'm at work?"

"But Ging, it's Saturday -- "

"I'm a very busy man."

"Yes," she said, rolling her eyes a little. She did love Ging but sometimes, it was just so frustrating to talk to him. "I'm sorry -- "

"Whaddya want?" He made a noise which sounded like he was passing a hand over his face.

 _Working?_ Gon thought skeptically. _More like snoozing off…_

"Have you made any enemies recently, Ging?"

Ging snorted. "Kiddo, you're going to have to be way more specific than that."

"Have you pissed anyone off recently? I mean, to the point where they'd try to get _me_ assassinated?"

Dead silence from the other end of the line. "Someone tried to kill you?" There was no concern in his voice, only mild interest. Gon wasn't offended though. She'd feel more offended if he'd sounded concerned actually. The fact that he didn't signified his confidence in her abilities. 

Yes, their relationship was a little weird. But that was to be expected in the Freecss family.

"Yeah," she said nonchalantly. "They hired a good one too. I've got a hole in my shoulder because of him." She frowned. "I've had to miss three days of classes."

He snorted again. "Classes suck. If it's really because of me, you should be thanking me, Gon." The young girl considered this. He had a point. "Anyways…" He let out a sigh. "Yeah, I can think of a few people who could’ve done it." And then he proceeded to give Gon a long list of rivals he had acquired in recent years, either through political intrigue or simply because he went to the bar and got way too smashed.

Once he was finished, Gon said, "Thanks Ging, that does narrow it down."

"No problem." He yawned. "Next time this happens though, don't call me. Only call me if something really serious happens."

Gon rolled her eyes again, making sure that the gesture could be heard through her voice as she assured him she wouldn't take up anymore of his precious time.

"Good. That's my girl." And Gon smiled at the sudden fondness in his voice. "Don't fail your classes now. You know if they call me down for one of those parent-teacher meeting things, I won't be able to make it."

Gon let out a nervous chuckle. The way her grades were looking now, it was a real danger. "I'll do my best. Take care."

"You too."

_Beep._

Gon placed her phone back on the end table, then gingerly laid herself back against the pillows.

That had been incredibly unhelpful. But it's Ging we're talking about after all.

Honestly, Gon didn't know what she had been expecting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is cross-posted from ff.net. I haven't proofread the following chapters very thoroughly so I do apologize for any typos/issues with pacing and stuff. Please feel free to send me any constructive criticism you have, as that will help me improve my writing n_n
> 
> Also, if you have any ideas about where you want the plot to go, or if you simply want to guess what's going to happen next, feel free to leave a comment. I have a general idea about the direction of the story but I love hearing new inspiration :) that being said, it is at my discretion whether or not to implement any suggestions I get…

"I made flash cards, a cheat sheet… I even got Kurapika to quiz me! But I can't remember all the steps to cellular respiration for the life of me, Gon!"

Gon hummed, seeing as it was the appropriate place in the conversation to do so. It was morning, and she and Leorio were on their way to school. The older student had spent the majority of the walk panicking about his upcoming exam in molecular biology but, with the terms he had been throwing around since the start of the conversation, he had lost Gon a long time ago. She was sympathetic, of course. School and exams often inspired a feeling of dread within her that few other things could. But since she had never studied biology before, her usefulness was limited to offering the occasional sound of sympathy.

She was having trouble focusing on the conversation as well, but that wasn't Leorio's fault. Rather, that was the fault of the pain medication which she had been taking, since getting discharged from the clinic on Sunday. It was Monday now, the start of a new week of school. Gon had no idea how she was going to focus in class while feeling woozy on her pain meds. She had enough trouble focusing as is.

As an antidote to her inability to focus, Kurapika had kindly suggested that she drink some coffee, which is why she had a cup clutched in the grip of her right hand. (Her left was rendered more or less useless by her injury.) Gon hated the taste of the stuff and curiously, she felt that the two substances were mixing in a rather unpleasant way. She felt simultaneously awake and unfocused, much like how she imagined a zombie might feel.

Leorio was still panicking. "And get this, if respiration wasn't bad enough, we have to know photosynthesis for the test as well! Which is even more complicated!" At this point, the older student began to pull at his hair, and coupled with his loud outbursts, he was attracting quite a bit of attention from their fellow classmates. Gon was too out of it to really notice though.

"It's okay, Leorio, it's okay," she repeated like a mantra, trying to soothe him with her voice. "It'll all be worth it, right? You're going to be the best doctor, you'll help so many people. You're going to be the best." Gon didn't really know what she was saying either, just whatever came to her mind. In the many years she had known Leorio, they had repeated this kind of scene many times with each other. Gon knew exactly what to say to get him to calm down. It was more or less an automatic reaction now.

"But…!" Leorio considered these soothing words. He heaved a sigh of defeat. "I guess you're right. As always. Thanks, Gon." He smiled at her and she looked up at him, liking his cheerful expression in contrast to the one of agony he wore seconds ago.

Her lips curled in a dreamy smile. "You're welcome, Leoriooo~"

Leorio had been too focused on himself to realize that Gon was acting strange. He took note of it now. "Oi, Gon. You sure you should be in classes today? You're acting a bit… odd."

"Odd?" She tilted her head at him, brown eyes large and glossy, not quite understanding. "I feel great, Leorio. Just peachy."

He grunted, unconvinced. "How's that shoulder doing?"

"Not too bad, not too bad," she said, unconcerned. "I'll be back to normal in no time, just you wait and see. I'm a healing machine!" she cheered, and now she was the one attracting unwanted attention.

"Okay, let's just calm down a bit there." Leorio eyed the paper cup in Gon's good hand with suspicion. "What're you drinking, coffee?"

"Uh huh," Gon intoned. "It's disgusting though, I don't know how adults drink this stuff. Bleh." She stuck out her tongue in a frankly very adorable way. Still, Leorio was a doctor-in-training and, adorable or not, the patient's well-being had to come first.

"Gon, you shouldn't be having any caffeine while you're on pain medication."

"Ah? Is that true?" Gon considered this, her bottom lip pouting out slightly. "Kurapika lied to me then."

"She did what?!"

"She told me it would help me feel better and focus in class." Gon looked up at Leorio with her patented puppy dog expression. "You're not mad at her, are you, Leorio?"

Leorio took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm not mad at her. But I don't think you should drink anymore." He held out his hand. "I'll throw it away for you. Give it here." There was a trash can coming up along their route, on Leorio's side of the walkway.

Gon lit up, happy that she wouldn't have to drink anymore of this disgusting stuff. But as she went to pass Leorio the beverage, someone bumped right into her bad shoulder, causing her to spill her drink all over her friend.

She hissed in pain, the coffee cup falling to the ground, and Leorio yelling as hot coffee spilled down the front of his blazer and dress shirt. The shock of being hit cleared some of the haze in her mind and she glanced at Leorio, asking him if he was okay, before turning to glare at whoever it was that bumped into her.

Her blood froze in her veins.

The culprit was a tall young man with a shock of curly, white hair. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his pants which were, incidentally, the black slacks of their school uniform. He wore their blazer, dress shirt, and pinstripe tie as well, the red emblem of their school pinned to his breast. The boy's expression was nonchalant as he stared back at her, but Gon barely noticed any of those details. What she did notice were his eyes.

Cold, slanted and blue. The eyes of a killer.

"You…" she whispered.

Though his expression had been scrubbed blank, there was some hint of amusement in his gaze, presumably about the events which had just taken place, namely Leorio's misfortune. But when he heard Gon's voice, his eyes emptied themselves of anything but coldness.

They stared at each other for a tense moment, gridlocked, before Leorio recovered himself and came to her side. "Oi, pal. Who the fuck do you think you are -- " He broke off as he assessed the situation. "Gon, who is this guy? You know him?" he asked, his voice taking on the edge of a threat.

Blue eyes waited for her to respond. She had a feeling that the wrong response would cause a fight to break out immediately. With her shoulder as it was now, she would be useless in a fight. Neither did she want to get Leorio involved in her own personal problems. She stood up a little straighter, then shook her head. "No."

Leorio frowned at the silver-haired boy, his displeasure very much evident. "Watch where you're going next time, punk."

"I could say the same to the two of you," was the cool response. Gon suppressed a shiver. It was the same voice she heard from several nights ago, the voice which came through the grip of her hands on his throat. She narrowed her eyes, gaze dropping to the pale skin of the boy's neck. The bruises she left on him were faint but still visible to her sharp eyes.

"Feh." Leorio's frown deepened before he spat, "Get out of my sight, before I make you." Blue eyes narrowed at the threat but Leorio had turned away at that point, looking concerned at his friend. "You okay, Gon? He slammed into your shoulder, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Gon assured him, but she was distracted. The assassin's back was getting further away from them as he walked ahead, leaving them behind. Her heart beating quickly from something akin to excitement, she made a split-second decision. "Hey!" she called out, jogging to catch up with the silver-haired boy.

She ignored Leorio's shouts of concern coming from behind her, apologizing to him silently in her head. Weaving through the line of students walking along their route, she deftly avoided bumping into anyone with her injury, before she made it to her target's side.

The assassin glanced at her coolly and then away, effectively ignoring her. She set her lips in a determined line, eyes burning with resolve. "You owe my friend an apology," she said firmly.

Blue eyes flicked back to her again. "Do I?"

"Yeah, he has to wear coffee all day because of you."

The assassin closed his eyes to emphasize his lack of concern. "Not my problem. He should have been paying more attention to his surroundings. The same goes for you. I won't apologize to you either."

Gon frowned. "I'm not asking for an apology. But Leorio deserves one. I won't drag him into my personal messes." At this, the assassin opened his eyes, surveying her again. Gon's attention flicked down to his uniform, understanding the implication of it for the first time, and it made her hesitate. "Why are you wearing that?" she asked, gesturing to his clothes.

"What does it look like? I'm going to school. Your school." He grinned at her slightly, knowingly, before leaning down the barest amount, focusing his attention on her. "I have to eliminate you somehow."

Gon frowned at him unflinchingly and his grin wavered. "I don't believe that."

"Huh?" His smug expression faded completely, being replaced by a look of confusion.

"You had a chance to kill me after I lost consciousness that night." Blue eyes shifted away, knowing what was coming next. "But you didn't, you brought me to the hospital. Why?" When he didn't answer, she pressed, "Why didn't you just let me bleed out? Your job would've been finished."

"If I left you like that, there would have been too many tracks to cover," he waved her off, dismissing her theory.

"Oh yeah?" Gon was not convinced. "When you stabbed me with your hand, you weren't aiming for my heart either." At this comment, he visibly winced.

He made a noise in the back of his throat before saying, "You noticed that?" He tried to say it in an offhand way, but the heightened pitch of his voice gave himself away.

"Yeah. You didn't intend to kill me with that blow." Her voice was softer when she asked again, "Why?"

He stared at the tops of the trees lining their path, placing his hands behind his head. Gon waited for a response but none came. He had gone back to ignoring her. She opened her mouth to press him some more, but then she thought better of it and smiled instead, her whole attitude softening. The assassin must have sensed this because he peeked at her curiously.

"I'm Gon," she said, closing her eyes in a genuine smile, her voice exuding some emotion which seemed to take the assassin completely by surprise. He could only stare at her dumbfounded as she continued, "Gon Freecss, but you probably already knew that." She waited for him to confirm this. He apparently was unable to make a sound, rendered speechless by the unexpected shift in their interaction.

"Will you tell me your name?" she asked gently. The assassin made a vague noise in the back of his throat. Gon did not seem bothered by the lack of intelligible response. "I hope you'll tell me some time." Her expression grew even more open, if it was possible. "I really want to be friends with you."

"Ever since we fought that night, I've been wanting to know more about you," she admitted truthfully, without an ounce of self-consciousness. "I hope you'll let me."

Without giving him much time to process her words, Gon turned tail, waving at him over her shoulder, before heading back to Leorio's side. The older student had been watching their interaction with a wary eye, some paces away. Before Gon jogged out of earshot, the assassin opened his mouth.

"It's Killua," he said, loud enough for her to hear. His own expression seemed shocked, like he couldn't believe his own actions. Gon faltered, glancing over her shoulder again. There was amusement and joy in her eyes as they met his, before she turned away once more.

When Gon returned to Leorio's side, her heart was beating like she'd just run a marathon. The coffee might've had something to do with it, but not entirely. "I'm sorry about your shirt, Leorio," she said, her expression sobering up.

"It's not your fault, kid. I've got spares in my gym locker." He reassured her with a full smile.

Little did Gon know that she wasn't the only one with a rapid heartbeat. A few paces ahead, Killua felt his own heart beating the same bewildering tempo as her own.

*********

The next few days passed in a blur for Gon. She did notice that she had one class with Killua, right before the end of the day. But she didn't get to interact with him much at all. On the one hand, they didn't sit near each other. Gon's assigned seat was near the front of the classroom while Killua's was at the back. (It was according to their last names -- Gon didn't know Killua's last name but she suspected it was at the very back of the alphabet.) But another reason was that her pain medication continued to induce a kind of haze over her mental condition. It was a very pleasant kind of haze but one that was not conducive to… well, focusing. Or multitasking. Which meant that she had to do everything in her power to simply focus on the teacher, so she couldn't really afford to wonder what Killua was doing.

From time to time, she could feel his cold, analytical stare slide over to her. It did kind of annoy her that he could watch her so easily, while she would have to conspicuously turn around in her seat if she wanted to look at him. But it didn't bother her too much because, as was previously stated, she was focusing all her energy on simply keeping her head up and her eyes open.

Inevitably, sometimes she failed. Today happened to be one of those days.

_BAM!_

She bolted upright in her chair, her back ramrod straight. She blinked, taking in the unexpected sight of… students filing out of the classroom, the teacher packing up, and… someone else's textbook on her desk. The culprit of the loud noise which had woken her. And it was being wielded by… 

"Killua?"

The assassin pointed to a spot on her desk beside his book. "You drool when you sleep? Gross."

Indeed, there was a small spot of drool on the desktop, right where her head had been laying before she'd been so rudely woken up. Gon blushed, wiping at it with her sleeve, causing Killua to pull another face. She ignored it. "Doesn't everyone?" she asked, trying not to appear affected.

"Uh, no?" He looked at her like she was crazy. He probably already thought she was.

Gon noticed that Killua was already packed up, his backpack slung over his shoulders. He took a moment to store his textbook away, and Gon began to pack up her own things. "Y'know," she said, keeping her voice purposely light, "there are nicer ways to wake someone up, like giving them a gentle shake to the shoulder."

"Your shoulder's injured," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"I have two," she countered sweetly, standing up and slinging her bag over her good shoulder. "See?"

"Whatever," he mumbled as they walked out of the classroom together. Gon couldn't help but smile at the slight tone of annoyance in his voice. "You're weird anyway."

"Thank you."

"What do you mean, thank you?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to be _normal_ ," Gon said, like it was obvious. "'Cause being normal is boring." She brightened. "Weird people are always interesting."

Killua gave her yet another look like he was assessing her sanity. "You have nothing to worry about there, you're definitely weird."

"You just noticed?"

"Nah," he said, placing his hands behind his head in that idiosyncratic way. Gon's eyes zeroed in on the fingers of his right hand and she took note of how they were bandaged. Memories of their fight, which had taken place the week prior, flashed through her mind. That's right… she had broken his wrist, hadn't she?

"But falling asleep during a class we have together," Killua continued, "don't you think that's dangerous?" He glanced at Gon out of the corner of his eye. "You've given me plenty of chances to kill you."

"Yeah," she said, totally unconcerned by the thinly veiled threat, "and you haven't acted on any of them." Killua opened his mouth to protest, his face growing a bit red, but no words came out. She looked up at him openly, honestly. "I'm not afraid of you at all, Killua."

"You'll… get yourself killed one of these days. If not by me, then someone else will do it."

Gon frowned. "Possibly. But if you tell me who hired you to do the job…"

Killua hesitated, almost looking like he might give in, and Gon's eyes widened. Then his expression closed off. "I can't."

Gon looked away from him. "Okay." She shrugged. Since Ging had no idea who had ordered her assassination, the only person she could get the information from was Killua. Since he was still here, that most likely meant that he still had the job and thus, she was safe for the time being. She had a strong feeling that Killua would not try to harm her again. Otherwise, would he really be walking down the hallways with her right now, talking as if they're friends?

"How's your wrist?" she asked, switching tacks. 

"Broken," he grunted.

"Is that the hand you use to write with?"

"... Yeah."

Gon felt the urge to laugh, he sounded so grumpy. At the same time, she also felt guilty about being the perpetrator of his misfortune. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. But then again, he had returned the favor by gouging a hole in her chest, so she figured they were pretty much even.

Killua's cheeks got a little rosy from her apology. He glanced away from her. "It's whatever. It'll heal quickly."

"You can't take notes in class though, can you?"

"Don't need to," he mumbled. "I already know everything."

"What?" Gon squeaked.

"I was homeschooled when I was young."

"Ah! Killua, I'm jealous!" Gon gripped the strap of her bag with her hand, expressing her anguish. She leaned closer to him. "I wish I was you! Do you know how badly I need your brain right now?" Gon was too caught up in her own dilemma to notice how her words were affecting Killua. Indeed, his expression had turned into something quite bashful. 

"Exams are coming up and… ughhh… if I fail any of my classes, Ging's gonna find out and he'll be sooo pissed. He'll never take me on another expedition again." Her face fell at the thought and Killua tried to make sense of the random assortment of words she'd just thrown at him.

"Who's Ging?" he asked carefully, snapping Gon out of her apocalyptic musings.

"My dad," she said, blushing.

"Oh." Killua blinked, surprised. Gon didn't blame him. Most people didn't call their fathers by their first names after all.

"I call him Ging because I never spent much time with him growing up," she explained, an open book. "I was raised by my aunt. Honestly, I don't even know who my mom is and frankly, I don't really care to know." Gon's expression hardened just the slightest amount and Killua caught it. There was the fleeting impression of pain in her eyes, gone almost immediately. Her demeanor quickly recovered as she went on, "Ging lets me go on adventures with him sometimes, when we're off from school. But if I fail my classes, I'll have to stay here for summer school and… oh god, I don't think I could handle that." She sounded absolutely miserable at the prospect. "Being cooped up all summer long, that's my worst nightmare."

"Which classes are you having trouble with?" Killua asked, and his face was neutral but there was some hint of interest in his eyes as he looked at Gon.

"All of them," Gon answered bluntly and Killua barely stifled his laughter, having to hold his hand over his mouth. She frowned at him. "Your manners are very bad, by the way. It's not nice to laugh at others when they're admitting their weaknesses to you. Aunt Mito taught me that."

He grinned at her openly this time. "Sorry," he said, and it sounded like he meant it.

Gon nodded, accepting his apology, before she continued, "My stay at the hospital set me back a bit, but I think I can pull through with a pass in everything… I'll just have to work _really_ hard." She bit her lip. "Except math. Yeah," she groaned, "that might be a lost cause."

"I could help you -- " Killua started to say, then he broke off, his expression horrified by what had just come out of his mouth. Gon paid no attention to that however, her eyes lighting up like 100-watt lightbulbs.

"You really mean it?" she asked. She had stopped walking in her excitement and now leaned into Killua's space, invading it in a way that made the assassin jump back a foot.

His eyebrow twitched as she continued to give him that luminous stare and well, as soon as the puppy dog eyes had come out, he didn't stand a chance. "Yeah," he groused, shoving a hand through his hair. "Sure. Whatever."

"Aw yes, Killua!" She hopped in the air, then gave him a light punch to the arm that still kind of hurt. "You're a lifesaver, seriously," she prattled on as they resumed walking. "We've been learning about this thing called trigonometry and like, of course I don't see the point of it." They stepped out of the building and into the school courtyard. "When am I ever going to need to know the height of a ladder from its shadow? So pointless." Gon's gaze automatically went to the front gates, where Kurapika and Leorio stood waiting for her. They hadn't taken notice of her presence yet. Instead, they seemed pretty engrossed in speaking to each other. Her sharp eyes narrowed in slight concern as she took note of the rather… aggressive expressions the two were aiming at each other. Her lips turned down in a frown.

"Hey, you okay?" Killua had caught note of the change in her demeanor.

"Yeah, sorry." She shook her head, bringing herself back to their conversation. She dug into the pocket of her blazer, pulling out her beetle phone. She held it out to him. "Can you give me your number? We can set up a study date some time."

The word 'date' seemed to have affected the assassin in some indeterminate way. However, he took the phone from her outstretched hand and examined it. "This is your phone? It's… really cool," he admitted.

"Thanks. Leorio gave it to me as a birthday present two years ago."

He pressed some buttons, then returned the apparatus to her. "You mean that old guy? The one you spilled coffee all over…?"

"After you bumped into me?" she countered, her expression suddenly turning innocent. He narrowed his eyes at her, seeing through her guise, but said nothing. She grinned, basking in her small victory. "Yeah, we've been in school together for years." She glanced down at her phone, making sure that Killua had given her a legitimate number and not something just to mess with her. She hadn't known the assassin for long but still, she knew him well enough already to expect a stunt like that from him.

Curiously, he hadn't included his last name in his contact but Gon didn't mind. She doubted she would ever have another 'Killua' in her phone anyways.

"Him and Kurapika, they're my best friends." Gon pointed to the pair in question, who were still apparently bickering by the gates. Killua followed her line of sight. "Why don't you come over with me? I'll introduce you."

"N-No, I don't think…"

"Come on," she encouraged him, taking care to grab his uninjured hand as she led him over. Killua's face was cherry red as he lagged behind her but fortunately for him, she didn't turn around to notice.

"Yo, guys!" Gon greeted Kurapika and Leorio as she approached them, her hostage in tow. Upon reaching the gates, Gon had let go of Killua's hand. Vaguely she felt this sense of discomfort, like she preferred having the contact instead of being without, but she brushed off the puzzling sensation. "Sorry to make you guys wait."

Kurapika and Leorio had stepped away from each other after being joined by the two younger students, their countenances growing a bit guilty as they greeted their dear friend back. Gon's eyes flicked between the couple, taking note of the tense air between them.

"Ah! It's that punk again!" Leorio exclaimed suddenly, pointing a finger at Killua. "You've got some nerve, kid, showing your face around here again -- "

Before Killua could retort, Gon placed her hand on Leorio's outstretched arm, lowering it, trying to placate him. "I invited him to join us, Leorio. We're friends now." The word 'friends' seemed to get Killua to tense up behind her. Leorio, meanwhile, was flabbergasted. "I wanted to introduce him to you guys. His name is Killua."

Kurapika ran her analytical, gray eyes over the young boy before she gave a small nod. "My name is Kurapika. Any friend of Gon's is a friend of mine." She gave him a polite smile. 

Leorio wasn't as easily swayed, however. He offered his name as a grunt, then turned back to Gon and said, "You sure you wanna be friends with this guy, Gon? He looks like trouble if you ask me."

"Bah," Killua said, stretching his arms behind his head in that way which was becoming oh so familiar to Gon. "What do you know, you're just a grumpy old man -- "

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD, PUNK." Leorio made to grab at Killua, but Kurapika held him back, her hand fisted in the back of his blazer. "Pika, _let me go_. This spoiled brat needs to learn his place -- "

Gon leveled Killua with a look that was supposed to be serious, but she couldn't entirely hide the fact that she found this pretty amusing. Still, she felt a responsibility to defend her best friend. "Leorio is only one grade above us."

"Seriously?" Killua whistled, grinning arrogantly at the doctor-to-be. "That's some bad luck you've got with genetics then -- "

"PIKA, LET ME GO I TELL YOU. LET ME GIVE THIS BRAT A TASTE OF MY FIST."

"You're such a child," Kurapika muttered, rubbing her temples with her free hand. "Leorio, stop this foolishness at once."

Immediately, Leorio ceased struggling in his girlfriend's grip. "B-But Pika…" He stared at her with the expression of a puppy who has just been kicked. Kurapika however, had been together with Leorio for too long to fall for such tactics anymore. That, and the fact that she was a woman in possession of a very strong will. She turned her head, rendering any further efforts on her boyfriend's part useless.

"He started it though!" Leorio was in utter disbelief that Kurapika was giving him the cold shoulder. 

"You are older, so you should act that way," she stated matter of factly, without an ounce of sympathy. She began walking away from their little circle, out of the front gates, and Leorio had no choice but to trail after her. He continued to plead his case, his words falling on deaf ears. 

Gon and Killua followed some paces behind the older pair. Kurapika and Leorio were fighting again but that didn't worry Gon too much. After all, in all the years she'd known them, even before they'd started dating, they had a tendency to grate on each other's nerves. Part of it certainly had to come from their chemistry, since it was obvious to any bystander that the two loved each other very much. Still, the way they had been arguing heatedly at the school gates, before Gon and Killua had made their appearance… that seemed a bit more aggressive than the usual bantering. Gon hoped she wasn't reading into things too much.

Killua coughed beside her, pulling her from her thoughts. "Are those two, uh…" It seemed like he didn't quite know how to ask, but Gon could fill in the blanks.

"Yeah, they're dating. They've been together for… hey!" Gon raised her voice, getting the couple's attention. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Three years," they said simultaneously, then promptly went back to bickering.

Killua considered this. "Do they always fight like that?"

Gon chuckled. "Yeah. I've heard Kurapika refer to it as a love-hate relationship. Jokingly though, they're extremely close." And saying that fact out loud helped allay some of her fears. Gon had faith that the couple would iron out their issues eventually. They always did.

"So uh…" Killua scratched the back of his head with his usable hand, suddenly looking bashful. Gon stared at him quizzically. "What you said back there, that you think of me as your friend…" He peeked at her through his eyelashes. "Did you really mean that?"

Gon's heart did a strange flop in her chest as Killua stared at her with uncharacteristic shyness. He seemed both uncertain and hopeful as he waited for her answer. Gon drew in a breath before she said, "Of course I meant it. I considered you my friend as soon as I woke up in the hospital. When I realized that you saved me, I knew that I would do the same for you if I ever saw you again." She smiled at him. "And I'm glad I did. I'm glad you enrolled in our school."

"O-Oh." Killua looked away, but she could see the trace of a smile on his face. She leaned towards him, trying to see his expression better, and he shoved a hand in her face, trying to push her away. She laughed, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Do you consider me as a friend, Killua?"

She heard him draw in a sharp breath before breathing out, "Yeah, I think so."

"That makes your job a lot harder, doesn't it?" she sang in his ear, immensely pleased at the response.

He tried his best to glare at her shit-eating grin. But Gon could tell from his face what the answer was. It was obvious.

She sighed happily, turning her gaze up to the tops of the trees lining the road, the pale, cloudless spring sky.

Gon definitely wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep in class anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your support guys :D I wasn't sure if anyone would read this, given the strange premise OTL I feel very encouraged.
> 
> In terms of an update schedule, there isn’t… really one. Sorry T_T I hope you will be patient with me.

Killua tried not to be conspicuous as he stole glances at the dark-haired girl sitting across from him.

He didn't have to worry about her noticing, because she was totally engrossed in the assignment laid out before her. Her eyes were glued to the pages of math questions on the tabletop. He could practically visualize the steam blowing from her ears.

No, it wasn't her he had to be sneaky about, but everyone else. There was another boy sitting at the table with him and Gon -- their classmate, Zushi who was in the same grade. Apparently he was also having trouble in math.

Somehow, their study 'date' had turned into a study 'threesome'. Killua tried not to think about how wrong that sounded, nor about how oddly disappointed he felt. He'd been looking forward to spending the time alone with Gon.

It wasn't because of anything else, he figured, just that Gon was the only person he felt comfortable around being. He wasn't used to spending time around people who weren't related to him, unless he was killing them.

He tried to shake himself out of that morbid train of thought before he fell too deeply into it. 

Well, it's not like they would have been alone anyways, even without Zushi here. Killua let his eyes roam around the room. They were camped out in the lounge on the fifth floor of the dorms. Kurapika and her friend Senritsu sat at a table in the corner, playing chess, while Leorio sat on the couch, reading a newspaper. He really did look even more like a geezer like that, and Killua was dying to tell him so. But the lounge was quiet and the atmosphere peaceful. He doubted Gon would find it amusing if he ruined that.

Exhaling through his nose, he went back to looking at Gon. She wore her hair down today, as opposed to her usual updo. A few soft strands of hair fell over her face, as she leaned forward in concentration. Since it was the weekend, everyone was wearing casual clothes, and it was Killua's first time seeing Gon in something other than her school uniform. She wore a sunset tank top which complimented the warm brown of her irises, a light jacket and shorts to match the moderate spring day. Killua felt the corner of his mouth quirk up unconsciously as he stared at her. Suddenly, her gaze lifted to his and he reddened, having been caught in the act.

"Is everything okay, Killua?" she asked him gently, a soft smile on her face.

"Y-Yeah." He'd been staring openly. He really had been. Such an idiot. "How's it going?"

"Bad. I can never tell which one of the things I'm supposed to use. Like sine, cosine, or tangent."

Killua reached over, sliding her paper towards him as he picked up a pencil with his left hand. He wasn't exactly ambidextrous but his left-handed penmanship was more or less readable. He scrawled a mnemonic across the top of her page, explaining it to her and she thanked him, though it didn't really seem to help. Her own pencil remained limp in her hand. 

"Y'know, I thought all ladders say how tall they are, like somewhere on the side. Isn't that a rule or something?" She pouted, frustrated, and Killua laughed.

"It doesn't matter, Gon. It's a word problem. The situation could be totally ridiculous, but it's just a setup to get you to practice the concepts."

"Well," she huffed, "it would help if the situations were realistic. Otherwise it all feels pointless."

"I agree," Zushi chimed in beside her. Killua glanced at his paper. He seemed to be having more luck than Gon, but not by much.

The sound of paper crinkling came from the couch and Leorio stood up, yawning. He placed his folded newspaper on the coffee table. "You guys have been at it for awhile, haven't you? Why don't we take a break? We can walk down to Jojo's if you'd like -- "

Gon bolted up and out of her chair, knocking some of her papers to the ground in the process. "Yes please!"

Kurapika and Senritsu also stood up from their game, apparently ready for a break. A short moment later and the six students were on their way, out of the dorms and headed towards town.

"Jojo's?" Killua whispered to Gon, who walked by his side.

She nodded at him. "The local convenience store. It's right on the edge of campus. It's a pretty popular hangout place for the students."

Killua patted his stomach absently. "Good, I was hoping we'd be getting food. I'm starving."

Gon stuck her tongue out at him. "Me too. What about you, Zushi?" she asked, turning to the male who was flanking her other side. "Are you gonna buy anything?" She brought the brunette into the conversation with that friendly charm of hers, and Killua fell quiet, content to just listen to the sound of her voice.

The assassin had been attending school for two weeks now and he was still trying to wrap his head around the unfamiliar role he'd gotten himself into. He wasn't used to being around strangers for so long, and he found himself not quite sure how to act around them. The idea of actually becoming friends with another person was an entirely foreign concept to Killua… that is, until Gon had come along.

He found himself watching her as she exchanged words with Zushi, her eyes bright, features animated with optimism. She glanced at Killua, then smiled and he fumbled, hastily conjuring a smile in return. It felt like it came out more as a grimace. Killua wasn't used to making cheerful expressions. It was probably a wonder that his lips could curl upwards at all.

But Gon didn't seem to mind. Her smile only deepened further, as if she understood the effort behind the gesture, giving him a light tap on the arm before replying to something Zushi said.

Killua jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. This whole situation was so… mundane. It was a normal teenager's life, and Killua felt a strange sense of vertigo, almost as if he was living vicariously through someone else. Almost as if this was not his reality.

Illumi had taught him after all, that an assassin could not live a normal life. That's why he had been homeschooled, away from the prying eyes of others.

Yet here he was, walking through campus, hanging out with a group of his classmates on a Saturday.

Illumi had also taught him that assassins couldn't have friends. That if he had a friend, the only thing Killua would wonder is whether or not he could kill that person. Friends could only mean weakness to someone like him.

Yet… he glanced at Gon again.

He had a lot of fun when he was with her. He didn't really understand why but…

He wanted to stay with her. He wanted to keep being her friend. There was no part of Illumi's teachings that prepared him for this feeling, or forewarned him. This was new territory for Killua -- Killua, whose life had been controlled, whose every action and decision had been dictated by his family. The young man felt a sense of danger at the unpredictability of his current situation. He had no one to turn to for advice, no one to tell him what to do. For the first time in his life, he felt the simultaneous weight and freedom of independence. He found it both exciting and terrifying, the prospect of happiness and bitter consequences both looming over him.

What had possessed him to take a step towards independence in the first place was the young girl beside him. The night they had met, when they'd fought, the way she had interacted with him so fearlessly, how she had spared his life at the cost of putting her own in his hands. That kind of trust… entrusting Killua with something as important as her own existence had made a deep impression on the assassin. He'd known, from that moment onwards, that he wanted to know more about Gon.

And honestly, he was enjoying being a student more than he thought he would. The sense of normalcy, it was something he'd always yearned for growing up, always lacking as a child. But there were new worries, constantly nagging at the back of his mind. For one, his family would start to get suspicious soon. Killua never took too long to take out his targets. It was reasonable to spend a few weeks on a job, since it took time to research the target's habits and find the optimal, safest moment to eliminate them. He'd been away from home for three weeks now. The most he would have is a month before his family came looking for him.

There was also the fact that his client wanted Gon eliminated as soon as possible. He figured, from experience, that they would wait another week before starting to nag him.

And third… Killua wondered if he could keep Gon safe from himself. If Illumi had been right, if all Killua knew was how to kill others, then her life was at risk simply through her association with him. He swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling tight. As much as he wanted to assure himself that he would never hurt Gon again, he simply… didn't know.

Killua didn't know anything about himself, who he really was outside of the killing machine his family had raised him to be. And this was a very terrifying feeling. Like losing one's footing over a steep drop. Unconsciously, he felt his usable hand lift from his pocket and form into claws as he clenched his fist tightly, struggling to keep his inner turmoil from boiling out.

Gon tensed up minutely, immediately detecting the almost imperceptible change in Killua's aura. She turned to him slowly however, not wanting to alert the others that something was off. She locked eyes with him. "Are you okay, Killua?" Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, concern swimming in her amber orbs.

"Yeah," he said, breaking eye contact with her. He tilted his head downwards, allowing his bangs to hide his expression as he gripped his fist still tighter. Seeing the concern in Gon's gaze… it felt like someone had knocked the air out of him. Killua didn't like seeing her worry. He didn't like being the _reason_ for her worries. 

There was a gentle touch, fingertips grazing against the knuckles of his clenched hand, and he jolted. Gon was staring at his hand, a frown on her lips. "Killua, you're bleeding."

Her touch coaxed his fingers to unfurl, his nails to recede. His hand hung limply at his side, splattering drops of crimson along the sidewalk. His eyes reluctantly slid over to her face, dreading what expression she'd be wearing now but, to his surprise, it was more or less neutral. There was no judgement in her gaze, no silent questions. All she said was, "I'll buy some bandages once we get to Jojo's," and she left it at that. Killua spent the remainder of their walk taking deep breaths through his nose, trying to calm himself of the helpless feeling he'd nearly lost himself in.

Eventually, he regained his composure. All he had to do was focus on the warm, steady presence beside him, like an anchor to this unfamiliar reality, and then he found himself again.

********

As soon as the storefront of Jojo's came into view, Kurapika tensed, her gray eyes falling on the dozen or so figures loitering about the storefront. She heard Leorio suck in a sharp breath beside her, no doubt picking up on the same thing. "Fucking fantastic," she heard him mutter quietly under his breath. 

Kurapika's attention was inevitably drawn to the figure standing more or less in the center of the group. A dark-haired young man with a commanding presence, one that couldn't be ignored. His expression was smooth as he locked eyes with her and Kurapika stood even straighter than before as she strode forward, refusing to be intimidated.

Leorio and Senritsu had fallen quiet beside her, along with the three younger students walking behind them. The result was a tense air between the two groups as they finally met.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here," a tall blond man sang mockingly from the corner of the building, a cigarette hanging loosely from his fingers. "A bunch of pussies." He spat on the ground.

"Phinks." The leader of the group held out a hand, silencing his compatriot. The blond's expression fell slightly, but the dark-haired leader paid no attention to him. His entire focus was on Kurapika, staring at her with those strange, impassive eyes of his. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Kurapika?"

"Kuroro." The single word came out as a snarl. "Don't flatter yourself. As if we'd come looking for you." There was the fleeting expression of amusement on Kuroro's face, as if he knew better, but it quickly passed. "Let us through. This is neutral territory."

"Of course," he said smoothly, without a trace of guilt in his voice. "We wouldn't dream of starting anything here. Do you think so lowly of us?"

"Yes." Kurapika summoned the most hateful glare she was capable of producing, but it seemed to only increase the brightness of Kuroro's sharp eyes as they continued to linger on her. She took a step forward. "If you lay so much as a finger on any one of us here, I promise I will kill you the next time we fight."

Kuroro's companions, who had simply been observing the exchange up to this point, now simultaneously tensed up, moving closer to their leader in a coordinated movement which suggested protection. Kurapika's friends did the same, backing her up protectively, lending her their support. Kuroro seemed completely unbothered by the death threat. His interest in Kurapika only seemed to further increase and the blonde pushed down the feeling of nausea in her throat. She led her friends through the entrance of the store, her face stone. Only when the automatic sliding doors closed behind them, did she allow herself to exhale the breath she'd been holding.

There was a gentle touch on her shoulder but she didn't bother responding to it, already knowing who it was. "Kurapika, you can't let that bastard get under your skin," Leorio said in the gentle voice belonging to his bedside manner. "You know he does that on purpose."

She said nothing, his hand resting heavily on her shoulder. It was usually a comforting weight but the inexplicable rage she suddenly felt… Kurapika felt sick. She shrugged off the contact roughly. "I'm fine."

"Kurapika…" Leorio hesitated and she could hear the worry in his voice. The strange tension between them, which had manifested and grown in the past few days, now teetered on a precipice and Kurapika knew what he would say next. "Have you been… doing okay these days?" he asked haltingly. "Have I… done something wrong?"

 _Typical Leorio,_ she thought, a sense of self-loathing suddenly bearing down on her. Always worrying about others, putting them first, trying to find a fault within himself. "It's not you," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. It almost sounded like her words were hanging by a thread; if spoken any louder, they would break.

"Kurapika, look at me." There was the warm touch of Leorio's hands on her shoulders as he angled her body towards his, trying to coincide with her line of sight. "I'm worried about you."

She finally looked up at him, her temper snapping. "I don't need you to worry about me!"

Leorio just stared at her, as she trembled in his hold, her breath coming out unevenly. "Kurapika, your eyes." His thumb began to rub circles onto her shoulder, the motion intended to soothe. She shied away from the touch and his expression shuttered, the warm concern in his gaze cooling a bit. "You need to calm down," he said, his voice turning clinical. He was speaking to her less as a partner now, and more as a professional to his patient. From experience, Leorio knew this was the only way to break through to the blonde when she got worked up like this.

Kurapika knew she was being irrational, that she was letting her old rage consume her, the old wounds reopening. A part of her loved this, reveling in the sin of vengeance. That dark piece of her soul, the part that didn't care if her hatred threatened to destroy her, didn’t care whether or not her friends went down with her. There was a part of her that was indisputably nihilistic, and she couldn't help to indulge it every now and then. 

She was so principled all the time, holding herself to the highest standard. Everyone needed an outlet, didn't they? Whether or not the outlet was healthy was of secondary concern to the Kurta.

"Leave me alone," she said, her voice chilly as she turned away from the brunette and made for the exit of the store.

"Where are you going?" Leorio demanded angrily from behind her, his calm facade falling away. "You can't go back out there by yourself. Like hell I'd let you!"

The emotion in his words made her chest swell with feeling, but she pushed it down, allowing her rage to dominate her senses. "I am not your servant, Leorio. You can't order me around as you please."

"Pika, what are you talking about?" She could tell from his voice that he was standing right behind her now, but she didn't turn around. "I'm saying this all because I love you."

Kurapika clenched her eyes shut, gritting her teeth, and she said, "This is my fight, Leorio. It always has been." She could feel the way his aura shifted, as if her words had hit him like a physical blow. "I have never asked any of you to involve yourselves. You are free to dissociate from me as you wish. My business with the Ryodan is a personal matter, and I will handle them as I please." Her voice threatened to waver, but she held herself firm as she said, "Do not interfere," before striding out of the sliding doors.

Kuroro, who had apparently been watching the exchange through the glass panes of the door, smiled at her knowingly, his expression smug and tight-lipped. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked airily.

"Fuck you," Kurapika seethed, and his smile only deepened.

"Are you offering?" he asked, stepping closer to her, and she gazed up at him defiantly, unflinching. His fingers found the point of her chin and he gazed down at her, as if sizing up something valuable. As if she were just another oddity that the Ryodan found themselves fascinated with, a novelty that they would take just to satisfy their amusement.

Rage boiled in her stomach.

She slapped his hand away. "Remember what I said," she reminded him. "You've just signed your death warrant."

"When?" he asked, not missing a beat. 

"Friday evening, the usual time and place."

The one named Franklin smiled behind his leader. "Finally we get some action." He cracked his enormous knuckles menacingly. "It's been way too long."

"Indeed," Kuroro quipped, gaze holding steadfast on his blonde adversary. "Are you sure you want to set a time and place without your comrades here to back you up? They could desert you."

"Whether or not they join me is at their individual discretion. I have never forced them to fight alongside me, nor will I ever. Even if I have to face you alone, Kuroro, I will do so if that means avenging Pairo's memory!" Kurapika's voice had raised to a shout by the end of her speech, her face now hovering only inches away from Kuroro's, her teeth bared.

The leader of the Ryodan remained unfazed. "You know how I feel about the matter," he told her coolly, causing her eyebrows to further lower over her glowing, crimson eyes. He bent down to whisper in the shell of her ear. "But do understand, if you've grown tired of that 'doctor' of yours," he said, referring to Leorio in a condescending tone, "my offer still stands."

She jerked her head away from him, his lips on her ear causing her to feel ill. "You're disgusting," she spat. "I'd rather die."

He smiled at her this time, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in an unsettling smile. "We'll see. Be ready on Friday," he said, before turning his back on her, the back panel of his jacket blowing out like a cape as he led the Ryodan away from the storefront. "I'll be looking forward to it." The other members of the gang shot her chilly stares, filled with malice as a parting gesture, before they followed their boss, down the street and out of sight.

Kurapika remained on the curb of the sidewalk, her chest heaving with rage and emotion. All of her comrades were still in the store, where she'd left them.

The Kurta had always believed that her thirst for revenge made her strong, giving her the motivation to grow stronger, her rage fueling her to push past her limits and to do the impossible.

It was all for Pairo's sake, wasn't it? She would do anything, _anything_ to absolve herself of the guilt of his passing.

But in this moment, she couldn't help to feel a shred of doubt. Did blind rage lend her strength or weaken her? She thought of Leorio, of the pain that had laced his voice as he'd appealed to her sense of reason in the store. 

She had let him down, selfish as always. Through all their years together, Kurapika had never been able to give up that shameful, self-indulgent part of herself. Why couldn't she become a better person for the one she loved? Sooner or later, the Kurta would immolate in the fire of her own selfish, hateful desires, and Leorio would be helpless to stop her.

Perhaps it was for the best then, for Leorio's sake, if Kurapika didn't drag him into this any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jojo's… blatant reference haha ^^; Though I haven't actually read JJBA, I just see a lot of HxH fans talking about it o__o


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the update guys ^^
> 
> If you guys have any suggestions about where I can improve my writing, please do let me know. I do not have a beta, so comments of the constructive type will be very helpful to me. I'll even accept flames, so don’t be shy to tell me what you _really_ think >u>

While Kurapika had gone back outside to confront Kuroro, Gon roamed around the aisles of the convenience store, looking for snacks to buy, unaware of the conflict which had blown over between her two best friends.

Seeing the Ryodan outside of Jojo's… it had gotten her blood pumping. The reaction was automatic, given Gon's long-standing involvement with Kurapika, and the blonde's enduring grudge against the gang. As soon as they'd entered the store, Killua had asked Gon for an explanation of what had just taken place outside. She promised to fill him in on their way back to the dorms.

Recalling the original purpose for their outing, Gon picked out a bottle of juice for herself, along with a sandwich, before heading to the first-aid section. She peered at the shelves, taking stock of the selection. Within a few moments, she felt a familiar presence appear beside her.

"Almost done?" Killua asked. He was eating a bar of chocolate.

"Yeah." Gon raised her eyebrow at him. "You checked out already? That was fast."

"Nah," Killua said, unconcerned. He finished the rest of his chocolate and Gon blinked owlishly at him. He broke out in a grin, unable to help himself. "I'll pay for it, relax. I'm holding onto the wrapper, see?"

She smiled, finding his silly impatience strangely endearing, then eyed the other items he'd picked out for himself. An assortment of chocolate candies and a bottle of chocolate milk… "So I guess you like chocolate?" she ventured. 

He nodded. "Yeah."

She filed away the knowledge for future reference, turning back to the shelves. She picked out a roll of gauze, glancing at Killua's hand, trying to gauge whether or not the roll was long enough to wrap the appendage properly. "Hey," Killua said, and she looked up at him. "You don't have to do that, you know. I heal fast."

Indeed, his self-inflicted wounds had closed up before they'd arrived at the store, so he wasn't dripping blood all over the linoleum floor, but Gon could still see the trails of dried crimson staining his pale fingers and… "It's alright," she said quickly, turning towards the checkout counter. She felt Killua following behind her. "It's better to wrap it up, it'll heal even faster this way."

She felt fingers touch the heel of her hand for a moment, the contact lingering just slightly, before the gauze was gently taken from her grasp. "I don't need you to pay then," Killua said, his face a bit red. "Since I'll be the one using it." Gon felt her own cheeks warm a bit, but she nodded, placing her remaining items before the cashier.

After paying, they left the store, only to see Leorio standing outside, under the eaves of the building. He was smoking a cigarette, something he only did when he was feeling stressed or upset. Gon glanced at Killua, silently asking him to wait for a moment, before she went to Leorio. She had a bad feeling about this, and her premonition only intensified when she realized that Kurapika was nowhere to be seen, nor could she feel the other girl's aura.

"Leorio…" She hesitated. The older student had his eyes closed, mouth slanted in a downward diagonal. Smoke shot out of his nostrils. "You're not going to buy anything to eat?"

He peered at her through one open eye. "Not hungry, Gon."

She shifted, the plastic wrapper of her sandwich crinkling in her hand. "You can have some of my sandwich if you want."

Leorio looked at her with both eyes open now, giving her a kind of melancholy smile. "Thanks, kid. But I'm alright."

Gon swallowed, giving voice to the question which hung in the air. "Where's Kurapika?"

"She left already." Leorio clenched his jaw, the undercurrent of anger in his voice getting Gon to wince. "Headed back to campus without us."

"Is she going to be okay?" Gon asked uncertainly. "The Ryodan was just here."

Leorio sighed, dropping his cigarette to the ground before grinding it out with his heel. "She might be stubborn as hell but she isn't stupid. She'll be fine," he reassured her.

"Are you guys…" Gon looked up at her friend, unable to keep the concern from her large brown eyes. "Are you doing alright?"

Leorio just stared at her for a moment, grimacing. Normally he was one to keep personal matters to himself but if there was anyone he could be honest with, it was Gon. "Honestly, kid, I'm not sure."

Gon swallowed, unable to formulate a response. There was a gentle touch on her good shoulder, and Leorio's expression seemed to soften. "We'll be okay though. We always are."

This seemed to reassure the girl somewhat. She nodded, then left Leorio alone to his thoughts since it seemed like he wanted some time to himself. From his pocket, he pulled out a carton of cigarettes and a lighter, the two things he had purchased from Jojo's. He lit up another cigarette.

Gon returned to Killua, who stood some feet away, casually eavesdropping. She gave him a sort of muted smile as they traded gazes. Tucking her perishable purchases into the back pockets of her shorts, she held out her hand. "Can I see that injury of yours, Killua?"

With color in his cheeks, the silver-haired boy complied, placing his left hand in Gon's smaller one. She tore open the sterile packaging of the gauze with her canines, then set to work on skillfully wrapping his injured palm.

"You're pretty good at this," Killua said quietly as she worked.

"Yeah, well," Gon blushed as she got a bit embarrassed herself. "I get into fights a lot. I've picked up some basic first-aid over the years. It's like a necessity, being friends with Kurapika."

His eyebrows lowered a fraction. "Does that have anything to do with what happened earlier, outside the store?"

"Yeah," Gon affirmed, and she remembered how she had promised Killua information about the heated exchange they had witnessed earlier. "The group we met outside, they're called the Ryodan. They're a really infamous gang of students at our school. Basically, they're a bunch of bullies."

Gon continued to wind the gauze around Killua's palm as she further explained, "Their philosophy is just to take whatever they want, to steal whatever gets their attention, to fight whoever they want to fight. A few of the members are particularly vicious. They enjoy preying on the weaker students at our school, for no reason other than to satisfy their bloodlust. It's despicable," Gon said bitterly.

Killua made a strange noise in the back of his throat, almost like he was suddenly uncomfortable, and Gon looked up at his expression. He had turned a bit pale, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his face, and Gon froze. "I'm sorry, Killua. Did I hurt you -- "

"N-No." He waved her off, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. This seemed to recover him a bit. "So let me guess," he said, his color gradually returning to normal, "the Ryodan killed someone important to Kurapika, didn't they?"

Gon blinked, impressed by Killua's ability to deduce information. "That's right, how did you know…?"

"I know what revenge looks like," he said evenly, his expression unreadable. "The way she was talking to that guy, the dark-haired one. He's their leader, isn't he?" Gon nodded. "Only a person who wanted revenge could speak to someone with that much hatred."

Could it be that, in the past, someone had tried to take revenge against Killua? Being an assassin, that was pretty much an occupational hazard, wasn't it? Gon knew that Killua was strong, and capable of protecting himself but still, she didn't like the idea that his life was potentially in constant danger.

Gon pushed the feeling aside for now, refocusing on their conversation. "You're right, they killed someone important to her, a childhood friend of hers." Gon hesitated. There was much more to the story than just this, but she limited the amount of information she gave to Killua on purpose. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. In fact, Gon got the feeling that Killua was absolutely trustworthy, despite not having known him for long.

But Kurapika had opened up to Gon about her grudge against the Ryodan because they were best friends. Leorio was the only other one who knew the full set of circumstances surrounding Pairo's death. To tell someone about it without Kurapika's permission, Gon couldn't do that.

Killua seemed to pick up on her hesitation. "I understand," he said, not pushing her for any more information which could potentially compromise her friendship with the blonde, and Gon felt a surge of gratitude towards the assassin. She resumed wrapping up his injury, now carefully threading the gauze between Killua's long fingers.

"Kurapika was… she was furious in the aftermath. Her friend's name was Pairo and while Kurapika is strong, Pairo was weak. She basically had taken it upon herself to be his protector, as early as when they started school together. Then when she failed to protect him from the Ryodan…" Gon's expression fell, her hands slowing as they wove in and out between Killua's knuckles. "It almost broke her. If Leorio hadn't been there…" She trailed off, and Killua read the unspoken words. "Even with Leorio there to do damage control, she became obsessed with the idea of seeking vengeance. She killed one of the Ryodan in retaliation."

Killua's eyebrows shot upwards and Gon gave him a look as if to say, "I know right? Crazy."

"So that's how this whole conflict between Kurapika and the Ryodan came about. Being Kurapika's closest friends, Leorio and I supported her right from the start. We were the first group of students in our school who openly opposed the Ryodan. It sort of surprised us but, as time went on, people started joining us. Some of our friends, some friends of friends, and others who have beef with the Ryodan like Kurapika does. We call ourselves the Hunters sometimes, since lots of us happen to be pro-Hunters."

"Are you?" Killua asked her curiously.

She grinned at him. "Of course." He eyed her with a new gleam of respect in his gaze. "Kurapika and Leorio are too."

"What?!" he barked. "That old man too?"

Gon smiled at him. "We took the exam together, and we all helped each other out a bit. Anyways," Gon returned to her explanation, "right after Kurapika killed one of the Ryodan, we started to have regular skirmishes against them. I guess you could call them like gang fights. The tradition started because both sides had suffered losses against each other, and it was a very emotional time. But that was three years ago. The skirmishes still happen, but it's become more of an excuse to let off some steam. Most people who participate see it that way."

"So that's how you've gotten so good at first aid," Killua concluded as Gon finished up wrapping his hand. "You get beat up all the time." She deftly tucked the end of his bandages under the wrapped part of his wrist, then stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yep. I'm no stranger to the hospital either," she admitted, half-proud, half-sheepish. Gon wasn't exactly bloodthirsty but she definitely had some combative urges which needed to be satisfied every now and then. Honestly, if she hadn't been friends with Kurapika, she might be getting into all sorts of worse trouble. The blonde did as much for Gon as Gon did for her.

Zushi and Senritsu had stepped out of the store some time ago, and they stood on the curb beside Leorio, eating their afternoon snacks. With Killua all bandaged up, the five of them headed back towards campus.

"When's the next skirmish going to be?" Killua asked Gon through a mouthful of chocolate.

She frowned, thinking as she retrieved her sandwich from her back pocket. She tore open the cellophane wrapper, then held half of the sandwich out to Killua who blinked at her. "Take it," she encouraged him and he eventually did, extending his pale fingers to accept the offering. In turn, he offered her one of his chocolates and she took it with a smile. Their fingers brushed in the exchange, and it made Gon's heart rate speed up.

To distract herself from the sensation, she tried to answer Killua's question. "When's the next skirmish… I don't know. Probably soon. It's up to Kurapika mostly, but there hasn't been one in awhile. I imagine the Ryodan are feeling antsy."

Killua glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye. "Are you?"

Gon bit into her sandwich, chewing contentedly. "Nah," she said after swallowing. "Remember, I fought against you? That'll hold me over for awhile." Gon glanced up at him curiously. "What about you?"

Killua took a bite of the half sandwich she had given him, chewing thoughtfully. "Yeah," he said honestly. "I wouldn't mind a fight. I'm not itching for one, but I wouldn't mind it."

Gon grinned at him. "You could take part in the next skirmish we have, if you'd like. It's pretty much open invitation on our side. We're very inclusive, unlike the Ryodan," she said humorously. 

"Depends on when it is," was the conservative answer. "My wrist is still out of commission, thanks to a certain someone," he said, giving her a sly grin.

She blushed, frowning at his attempt to guilt trip her, but then his expression grew serious. "You shouldn't be fighting any time soon either." He pointed to her shoulder.

"Ah, this?" She looked down at her own injury, the bandages around her shoulder were just barely visible under the collar of her shirt. She gave her arm an experimental roll, wincing a little when it still hurt. It was taking awhile to heal, that was for sure. "It'll take more than just this to keep me from fighting."

"It could reopen," Killua said, frowning at her. "Letting it heal should be your priority now."

She gazed at him proudly, defiantly. "I haven't missed a single skirmish since we started having them. It doesn't matter when the next one is," she said, her voice full of resolve, "I'll be there to back Kurapika up."

Killua leaned a bit closer to her, using a finger to poke at her forehead, getting her to blink. "That's reckless, you know!" There was concern in his eyes, mixed with… guilt? "Do you really think your friend would want you ending up in the hospital again? Idiot," he said under his breath, and Gon smiled at him fondly.

"That's just how she is, Killua." Leorio called out to them some paces ahead, apparently having heard enough of their conversation to get the gist. "Better get used to it."

Killua mumbled something unintelligible in reply and Gon reached out, touching his arm to get his attention. "I am sorry about your wrist," she said genuinely. "You don't have to fight with us if you don't want to. It's completely your choice. Peer pressure isn't cool." She said the last part like a slogan or catchphrase and, if it had been anyone else, it would have sounded lame. But because it was Gon, she somehow made it sound alright. 

"I'll do it," he grunted, somewhat flustered by her touch on his arm and the blinding enthusiasm she always showed. "And… I'm sorry about your shoulder too."

Gon shrugged, though she seemed pleased with the apology. "An eye for an eye, right?"

"I'd hardly call this an even exchange," he said, holding up his broken wrist while eyeing the spot where he had stabbed her chest, just centimeters from her heart.

Gon seemed unconcerned, a sly grin sliding onto her lips as she looked up at Killua. That look had him feeling nervous. "W-What?"

"Well, if you really feel that bad about it, you could make it up to me somehow," she said lightly, turning away from him. She twirled a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Sure," he grunted, because he really did feel guilty about hurting her. Even if he had done it because of his job, she showed no anger towards him in the aftermath, and that somehow made the guilt even more unbearable. "What do you want?"

Her attention was back on him, a glint in her eyes. "You'll have to do one thing I say," she proposed, holding up a finger. "And it can be anything."

Killua swallowed. "Don't you think that's a little unfair?" he protested. "There has to be some kind of restriction -- "

He was cut off by her cheerful laugh. She sounded positively delighted about how uncomfortable she was making him, and that only made the warmth in his face grow. "Relax, Killua. You can always refuse if it's something you really don't want to do. It's all for fun," she said, her smile teasing.

"Fine. Whatever." He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away, simmering in his embarrassment. Damn, Gon could really get under his skin this easily. It was shameful, the performance he was giving right now. It put the Zoldyck family name to shame.

He'd always played the part of cold-blooded, emotionless assassin. Someone with a disconnect between his actions and his emotions, as his job required him to have. But Gon was making him feel the full gamut of human emotions and it surprised Killua everyday, how much he was learning about himself by spending time with his new classmates.

His friends, he reminded himself.

"So what's the request?" he prompted his dark-haired friend. She had finished her sandwich and was now working on her juice.

"Not sure yet," she said, speaking around the straw between her lips. Killua had to tear his eyes away from this fascinating detail, which he was staring at far too intently to be considered normal behavior. Gon didn't seem to notice though, her large eyes trained upwards on the blue sky above. She tapped a finger against the side of her beverage. "I'll let you know when I decide." Her eyes slid over to his. "Is that okay, Killua?"

He grunted his assent, reluctantly. But no matter his reluctance, it was acquiescence. It didn't take much convincing for him to go along with Gon. He couldn't help but be dragged into her pace and he found it scary, actually, how much influence she had gained over him in such a short period of time.

He absently wondered what was the point, going through all that endurance training when he was young, only for him to buckle so easily under the whims of a single girl. The only word which could properly describe him at this point was pathetic. But, looking down at her joyful face…

He found that he didn't really care that much.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapter update ^^ I like to keep some completed chapters in “reserve” just to make sure the story stays consistent, but I’m at a bit of a block recently, so I don’t know when the next update after this one will be.
> 
> I imagined this to be a non-massacre AU, thus Kurapika is not the sole survivor of the Kurta clan. However, everything else is the same, i.e. the discrimination and such.

Gon peered at the alarm clock on her bed stand, checking the time. It was almost time for her to meet up with Kurapika.

Her best friend had sent her a single-sentence text just half an hour earlier:  _ At the bar. _ Gon knew that this was Kurapika-speak for:  _ I'm at the bar right now, having the kind of existential crisis which I am prone to having every once in awhile. Will you please come over? _

Sighing, Gon shucked off her stuffy school uniform, trading the formal wear for a graphic t-shirt and a loose pair of jeans. She strapped her feet into a pair of sandals, then went to the mirror, staring at her reflection as she tied her hair up in a topknot. She supposed it couldn't be helped, the call to rescue was bound to come eventually. Yesterday, Gon had discovered that some conflict had transpired between Kurapika and Leorio, and since then she’d been waiting for the blonde to reach out to her.

The Kurta was, in fact, very private about her own matters. But Gon supposed even she needed someone to vent to every now and then.

Gon checked her topknot again, making sure she hadn't missed any loose strands. Strangely enough, she found herself wondering what Killua would think of her appearance if she happened to bump into him on her way to the bar. Would he find her outfit sloppy? Too casual? Gon angled her body, checking her reflection from the side. Then once she realized what she was doing, she stopped and shook her head, trying to dismiss these silly, unusual thoughts. She never gave much thought to her own appearance before. So why now, and why was she also thinking of Killua…?

She turned away from the reflection of her own confused countenance, quickly grabbing her wallet before heading out the door.

*******

Their school was unusual in many respects. The first was that the student body was… well, very unique. To enroll, one had to pass a selection criteria. That requirement could be met by being a member of some influential family, or by having the right connections. There were also those who got in by their own merits, for example being a pro-Hunter or having proficiency with nen. 

What was the reason for this? Well, it had been decided some decades ago that secondary education would be compulsory for everyone. But there were some young adults who, because of their unique circumstances, had experienced a disruption to their schooling (like passing the Hunter exam at the age of twelve, or being an assassin since the age of six). And so schools like this one were created.

The selection criteria had gotten a bit more stringent in recent years, however, and that was because a worrisome trend was developing in the school. Students were dying on a weekly, if not daily basis. Unfortunately, bringing together a student body like this had the unintended consequence of gathering many bloodthirsty people in one place. Some picked on the weak to satisfy their bloodlust, but some fights broke out because of old grudges between influential families, political matters and matters of tradition.

Things had gotten a bit better in recent years, but it was still pretty common for students to lose their lives here. The frequency was approximately a weekly basis.

Another, less morbid thing that made their school a bit strange was that there was a bar on campus. Most of the students were considered minors anyway but it was amazing, what one could do with a Hunter's license (Gon secretly wondered if that had been a major factor in Leorio's wanting one), or with the backing of a powerful family. 

The bar was located on the top floor of their student union, a strange building which looked like an amalgamation of scrap metal from the outside. In addition to the bar, it housed other boarding school necessities such as a bank, vending machines, and a legion of ping-pong tables.

Gon reached the building, climbed the stairwell, then entered the bar. Her eyes fell on Kurapika's blond ponytail immediately. She was sitting at the counter, right in front of the bartender. So it was one of  _ those _ nights then, ne?

Gon tried not to feel weird about being here at eight o'clock on a Sunday evening. She slid into the stool beside Kurapika. The blonde flicked her eyes at Gon, nodding her head slightly, before taking a gulp of her drink. Ice clicked against the glass walls of her tumbler. The blonde already seemed sort of drunk.

"So…" Gon wasn't quite sure how to breach the topic, but Kurapika hadn't said anything yet. The bartender sidled up to Gon and she ordered some tropical drink which had coconut milk in it, flashing her Hunter's license at him.

"Thank you for coming, Gon," Kurapika finally said, and it came out all slurred.  _ Oh boy, _ Gon thought. This was going to be a long night.

"You know I'm happy to," she said graciously, though with Kurapika being drunk already, she wasn't sure how much politeness even mattered at this point. "Have you been doing alright recently, Kurapika?" Gon frowned as she checked the hollows under the Kurta's eyes. "You look a bit tired." Honestly she was understating how exhausted her friend really looked.

"Yeah." The bottom of Kurapika's empty glass thunked against the countertop. She waved the bartender over for a refill. "You know, exam week starts tomorrow. I've been studying my ass off."

Gon resisted the urge to giggle. Alcohol sure did help Kurapika loosen her tongue. The upright student rarely said a crude thing when she was sober. "How are you doing in your studies, Gon?" she suddenly asked, like a concerned parent.

"Uh, fine?" Gon tried a smile.

Kurapika's glazed eyes scrutinized her expression for a moment before she nodded. Gon let out a breath. "That's good. Well you know," the blonde had gone back to her drunken introspection, "you should take care of yourself. Get enough sleep and eat regularly. Take walks…"

"I have been," Gon assured her, "but how about you, Kurapika? Have you been taking care of yourself?"

Kurapika lifted her refilled glass to her mouth. "You know I can't afford to do that," she said, licking her chapped lips. "School comes first. As the sole representative of my clan, I bear the responsibility of upholding our name. There can't be a single tarnish on my record, you know that."

Gon's lips slanted downwards. She knew very well of all the responsibilities which Kurapika had saddled herself with. Not just the task of avenging Pairo but also paving the way for her clan's reintegration into society. There was a long road ahead for the blonde, the discrimination and danger her clan faced in the outside world was enormous. Kurapika was doing everything she could to clear her clan's name, and she believed that had to start with herself. By being a model citizen of society in every possible aspect. She held herself to the highest standard, every waking and unconscious moment of her life alike. It was more than any single person should have to bear. Gon felt her heart sink as she looked at the shape of her best friend, slumped over the bar, clutching her drink as if it were a lifeline.

"Maybe we can forget about the Ryodan for awhile then," Gon suggested. "Until exams are over. That way you can just focus on one thing at a time."

There was regret in Kurapika's gray eyes as she regarded the younger girl. "I have already set the date of the next skirmish. It is this Friday, in the evening."

"Oh." That was pretty soon. Gon's mind went to Killua suddenly. She would have to tell him the news. Would he still want to participate, with the date being so soon? She would text him after talking with Kurapika.

"Will you take part?" Kurapika gazed at her questioningly.

"Of course," Gon said, giving her a light punch to the arm, earning her a small smile. "Do you even have to ask?"

"Gon." Kurapika sighed. "I really have to thank you, for supporting me all these years. You never asked for anything in return…" Her gaze grew wistful. "You and Leorio…" 

"We're your friends, Kurapika. There's no place we'd rather be than by your side." Gon flashed her a smile before taking a sip of her fruity drink, preparing herself to broach the topic. "Um, but about Leorio…"

"I love that man." Gon's eyes widened at the sudden and firm declaration of love, the straw in her mouth dropping to the bottom of her glass. It was rare for Kurapika to be so vocal about her emotions. It seemed that the alcohol was good for something after all. "But I do not deserve him," the blonde added soberly.

Once Gon recovered from her shock, she said good-naturedly, "You know that's not true. And he loves you just as much…"  _ If not more, _ she thought to herself. Honestly, the doctor-to-be adored his girlfriend. Gon had never seen anyone as devoted to their partner as Leorio was.

Hearing this only seemed to deepen Kurapika's guilt, however. "I… at the store yesterday, I allowed my emotions to overwhelm me once again. I lashed out at him. It seems that it's impossible for me to learn from my past mistakes." Kurapika chuckled humorlessly. Remorse lined every one of her tired features.

"Listen…" Gon gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Leorio understands you by now. He won't be upset about something minor like that. He's one of the best people I know -- probably one of the best people out there, period. Even Senritsu thinks so," Gon pointed out, and Kurapika couldn't argue against that. Being the wielder of the infernal hearing, none was a more accurate judge of character than their musical friend. "Just talk to him and apologize, like you guys always do after fighting." Indeed, Gon could not even remember how many times she had to play mediator between her two best friends like this… it was that many times.

Kurapika stared at the younger girl, her glossy eyes processing the advice, before she finally nodded. Determination took every place where guilt had lined her expression. "You're absolutely right, Gon. I need to apologize to him." The blonde picked up her glass, throwing it back in one gulp. She slammed it back onto the counter, completely empty. "In fact, I'll call him right now."

"Uh…" Gon held up her hands. "How about tomorrow, when you're not drunk? It can wait one night -- "

Kurapika was already digging into the pockets of her khakis. She looked triumphant when she finally procured her phone, then set it to speed dial. Gon facepalmed, turning her attention to her drink. She had no idea how this was going to play out, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be good. Her sharp ears could pick up the ring out, and she waited for the pre-medical student to pick up with a faint sense of dread.

_ I'm sorry, Leorio, _ she apologized silently, preemptively seeking his forgiveness.

_ "Hello -- " _

"LEORIO." Gon winced at the volume of Kurapika's voice. The blonde was literally shouting into the speaker of her flip phone. "I LOVE YOU."

_ "Kurapika? What are you… are you drunk?" _

"I LOVE YOU," Kurapika continued to enunciate into the phone and Gon tried to get her to quiet down. Luckily, there weren't many other people in the bar, but the bartender was giving them an exasperated look. Gon gave him a smile, hoping to appeal to his more tolerant side, and the guy just rolled his eyes, as if he had to deal with this on a daily basis… which was probably the case. Poor guy. Gon absently wondered if he could use nen too. That would probably come in handy for a job like his.

"I'm sorry, Leorio. About what happened yesterday, I don't deserve you." Kurapika looked like she was about to start crying.

_ "Pika, it's okay. We'll talk about it tomorrow."  _ Gon heard a sigh from the other line.  _ "Where are you right now? Are you somewhere safe?" _

"I'm with Gon." At this, the Kurta turned to her younger friend and wrapped her arms around Gon. The younger girl blushed at the loving gesture. "I love Gon as well. You and Gon, you're like family to me…"

Gon felt the sting of moisture in her eyes as she hugged her friend back, though they were happy tears. Leorio sounded a little choked up as well.  _ "Can you put Gon on the phone, Kurapika? I need to talk to her." _

"Of course. I love you, Leorio," Kurapika said and her voice was so soft, so full of love that Gon felt her own heart skip a beat, even though the declaration hadn't been for her.

Contrary to her words, Kurapika didn't move to give the phone to Gon so, with the older girl still in her arms, Gon reached up and gently took the phone from her grasp. "Hello?"

_ "Gon, where are you guys right now?" _ Leorio's voice sounded a bit weird. Low and muted, like he was holding back some strong emotion.

"The school bar. Should I take Kurapika back to the dorms?"

_ "I'll be there. Just… give me a few minutes." _ There was some background noise, as if he was simultaneously talking to her and getting ready to go out.

"We aren't going anywhere, Leorio. Take your time." Only when Gon ended the call did she realize that Kurapika's head had wedged itself into the crook of her neck. The blonde had fallen asleep. Gon tried to shift herself into a more comfortable position on her stool, then absently patted her best friend's back as she patiently waited for Leorio to arrive.

Well, that hadn't turned out as disastrous as Gon had expected. Her chest still felt warm from Kurapika's declaration of affection towards her. Of course, she never doubted that the older girl cared for Gon as much as Gon cared for her, but hearing the blonde say so herself was something she'd always cherish -- especially since the Kurta was usually so tight-lipped about her emotions.

Gon's ears picked up on the soft jazz music that wafted through the speakers on the ceiling, and she felt herself relax a bit. It was kind of weird, she thought, surveying her surroundings as she picked up her drink from the counter and took a sip. This place wasn't divey at all, like one might expect. It was well-maintained, almost classy. Kind of weird, given the demographic of its customers but Gon didn't really mind. 

Kurapika began to snore softly on Gon's shoulder and Gon resisted the urge to laugh, wondering what kind of a picture they made to outside observers. She continued to pat a soft rhythm against the older girl's back. Her straw sucked air at the bottom of her glass and the bartender raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking if she wanted a refill. She found herself nodding without much thought.

Once Leorio got here and took Kurapika home, Gon found herself thinking she might stay a bit longer. She wanted to text Killua about the date of the skirmish. But what if he was already asleep? It wasn't that late yet, right? … did any students actually go to bed this early? Even if some did, she hoped that Killua wasn't one of them. Should she mention in her text that she was at the bar? Or would that seem… too invitational? Did she want it to seem invitational?

Gon felt steam coming out of her ears. She had never been one to overthink things. Ever. The way she approached life was pure and simple, a head-on approach. But for some reason, the appearance of Killua had made things more complicated. Just thinking about him made her gut twist in a strange way. Maybe he really had poisoned her when she wasn't looking.

The door to the bar suddenly opened and Leorio came rushing in. He looked frazzled, and his hair was sticking up everywhere, as if he had fallen asleep studying before getting Kurapika's call. His eyes fell on Gon and he walked over, his expression relaxing. He paid Kurapika's tab before relieving Gon of her sleeping burden.

Then he looked at her expectantly. "Are you coming back to the dorms with us, Gon?" Kurapika was curled up in Leorio's arms, head resting against his chest. Gon wanted to gush at the cuteness but she decided not to embarrass Leorio anymore than he probably already was.

She shook her head at him instead. "I'll head back once I finish my drink," she said, pointing to the refilled glass beside her.

Leorio seemed uncertain. "Will you be okay here, on your own?" He looked around. There were maybe two or three other sleepy patrons in the room. Gon nodded and he seemed to give in, having determined that there wasn't much of a threat around here anyways. "You call me if you need me to walk you home, got it?" he said, his expression serious. "Doesn't matter how late it is."

"Yes sir!" She gave him a mock salute, and he gave her that look he always did before he went to ruffle her hair. But seeing how it was in a topknot right now, and also how he was carrying Kurapika bridal style… he settled for a smile instead.

"Text me when you get back."

"I will. Thanks, Leorio."

"You got it. See you tomorrow, kid." He left the bar with Kurapika in his arms. 

Breathing a contented sigh, Gon swiveled on her stool to face the countertop, placing her lips absently over the straw of her drink. She had no doubt that the couple would have made up by tomorrow, and this relieved her greatly. She just couldn't help but feel unsettled when they were having a serious row. That was how close her bonds with them had become, Gon supposed.

She pulled her trusty beetle phone from her pocket, and her heart rate sped up a bit, thinking of what she wanted to do next. She pulled up Killua's contact. There wasn't much in their message history, just a few things like setting up tutoring sessions or the occasional homework question, when she happened to be studying on her own. She went to type a new message and she found herself hesitating, thumbs hovering uncertainly over the outbox. That's strange… why did it feel so difficult to start a conversation with this guy? She felt a vague sense of annoyance at her own ineptitude.

This was ridiculous. If Gon Freecss was good at one thing, it was getting along with other people. She typed out the following message:  _ hey are you still awake? _

Good. That was good, right? That was the kind of message that regular people sent to each other. Because Gon was a regular person, and so was Killua… she began to sweat. Before she could overthink this some more, she hit send, then buried her burning face in her hands.

What was wrong with her? She couldn't think of why she was acting like this, so out of character. Killua was her friend, right? She had decided that awhile ago. But then why did she feel so unsettled when she thought of him? So full of energy, like she suddenly had enough to run ten marathons. Did friends sometimes feel this way about each other?

… could it be something else?

Her introspection was suddenly cut short when she detected the approach of two familiar auras. Strong auras. She recognized who they belonged to before they even entered the bar. The door swung open and she whipped her head around, staring at the newcomers.

They locked eyes.

_ The Ryodan… _


	6. Chapter 6

Gon watched as two members of the Ryodan stepped into the bar and made their way towards her, where she sat by the counter. She felt a buzz emanate from her pocket. However, with the current situation being as it was, she found herself ignoring the sensation without much thought. Her brain was on autopilot, fight-or-flight reactions kicking in. Outnumbered two to one, her chances were extremely poor if it came down to a fight.

As they closed in on her, Gon felt her fingers tighten around her empty glass. It vaguely occurred to her that the glass must be made of some special, reinforced material. Otherwise, it should have cracked by now.

"Gon~" One of the Ryodan waved his fingers at her; a smile graced his lips but it was dangerous. The corners of his yellow eyes crinkled in quasi-amusement.

Besides Kuroro perhaps, Hisoka was arguably the most dangerous member of the Ryodan.

By his side was a man she only knew by name. She'd never conversed with this one outside of their gang fights. He wore his long, black hair in a sleek ponytail. His geta clacked against the tiled floor with every step he took. Gon's gaze dropped to his waist. He didn't have his sword with him right now, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

Nobunaga. They'd fought each other a handful of times in the past few years. He couldn't be taken lightly either.

But then again, she supposed that was true about any member of the Ryodan.

"Hey!" Nobunaga pointed a finger at her, no doubt recognizing her on some deeper level than he initially had. "You're that Hunter that ends up in the hospital after every skirmish!"

Gon frowned at him as the pair came to a stop beside her. "Not every time," she said defensively, and the swordsman let out a roaring laugh.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, kid." Her frown lessened slightly, and she raised an eyebrow at him. Was he… praising her? "You've got spunk. I like that."

Gon didn't know how to respond to praise from her sworn enemy, so she decided not to comment. She tensed up though, as Nobunaga slid onto the stool beside her, and Hisoka took the stool beside him. They ordered drinks, flashing their IDs at the bartender (fake or real, Gon couldn't tell), before returning their combined attention to her.

"What're you doing here on a school night? And all by yourself?" Nobunaga smirked at her. "You poor thing," he cooed. "Did your so-called friends desert you?"

"The Kurta was here a moment ago, wasn't she?" Hisoka chimed in, his eyes bearing a predatory glint as he watched Gon. "I sensed her here with you."

Everything about this pair screamed danger to the young Hunter. Being Gon though, she didn't feel intimidated but rather, somewhat excited. However, she did feel a surge of protectiveness flare up in her chest at the mention of her best friend. "That's none of your business," she replied coldly, and there was no room in her tone for argument.

Hisoka's gaze only grew brighter, his pointed tongue darting over his lips.

Gon chose to ignore his provocative gestures, as she had been doing since meeting him years ago. "And I could ask you guys the same thing. What are you doing here? Don't you have something better to do, like terrorizing the innocent or stealing from the poor?" Gon grimaced, taking a sip from her nearly finished drink. "Or whatever it is you people do for fun."

Nobunaga just looked amused as he regarded her. "Kid, what you're doing right now, that's called generalizing. We're not a monolith."

She narrowed her eyes at him, not understanding. "What are you talking about?"

"Some of us like to kill for fun," Nobunaga agreed, tracing his fingers around the rim of his beer, which had just arrived. "Like that one." He jerked a thumb at Hisoka, and the magician just smiled wantonly. "But not all of us are like that."

Gon's voice was chilly as she replied, "It doesn't matter, whether you're the one doing the killing or your teammates. When you're part of a team, it's all the same." Her eyes filled with fire as she growled, "An organization like yours is despicable!"

"Oh?" Nobunaga grinned at her and there was something vicious about it. His aura strengthened just the slightest amount and Gon unconsciously found herself mirroring the action. "And what makes you think you have any right to lecture me? Your boss killed one of ours! Doesn't that mean the blood is also on your hands?!"

The swordsman's voice had twisted to a raised pitch, the look in his eyes was furious. There was rage swirling in his dark gaze, trapped just beneath the surface of his irises; Gon stared back at him unflinchingly. "He was my best friend," Nobunaga growled out, his face leaning closer to hers as a threat, and Gon blinked, her aggression falling just slightly upon in hearing these words. 

Certainly she knew that the Ryodan retained some sense of loyalty towards each other, but camaraderie? Close friendship? Was it even possible, for people like them with no detectable sense of morality? 

"Your boss killed my best friend," Nobunaga repeated. "She's nothing but a little bitch."

Gon's anger surged back, her fist finding its way to the front of the swordsman's shirt. She grabbed him roughly. "Take that back," she ordered.

He looked at her contemptuously. "You Hunters think you're so high and mighty, don't you? We might be sinners," he spat, "but that Kurta, that piece of trash is no better! She's the same as us! You all are."

Gon glared at him, rage threatening to overtake her senses and he stared back at her evenly, almost with an air of superiority, as if he had been trying to provoke her on purpose and felt pleased by his success. Gon's free hand tightened into a fist reflexively, and she felt the strongest urge to just smash his face with it, the consequences be damned.

But before she could act on her impulse, Nobunaga's eyes suddenly closed up into half moons and he burst into laughter. Gon blinked owlishly at him, her grip on his shirt loosening in confusion as she watched him chortle like a maniac. It continued for several seconds, and Gon exchanged a look with Hisoka who sat behind the swordsman. The magician just shrugged, offering no other explanation for his companion's behavior.

Finally, the laughter quieted down and Nobunaga reached out to pat Gon on the shoulder. She allowed him to, feeling no ill intent in the gesture and also because she was still feeling a bit shocked… she eyed him suspiciously, waiting for an explanation.

"Kid, you remind me of him," Nobunaga said to Gon, and there was a trace of something oddly warm in his gaze as he regarded her. Something wistful, nostalgic, and undoubtedly sad. Gon felt a pang of sympathy for the guy and she was taken aback by the unexpected feeling. She turned away quickly, clutching a hand to her chest as she felt her heart beating faster.

Sympathy for the enemy? This reeked of betrayal. Gon found her mind spinning as she tried to justify and understand her own feelings. Nobunaga had lost his closest friend in the rivalry between their respective gangs. There was no doubt in Gon's mind that his loss had been genuine. She could read the pain in the swordsman's expression as he'd referred to his dead comrade. His pain still seemed so fresh -- apparently two years had done nothing to dull the ache of his loss.

Images of Kurapika flashed in Gon's mind, her rage, her crimson eyes, the way she had directed her hatred towards Kuroro outside the convenience store just yesterday… it was the same moral dilemma, wasn't it? Both sides were seeking vengeance for the same thing, and Gon suddenly understood how alike they truly were. Nobunaga hadn't been bluffing.

"Hey kid." Fingers snapped right in front of her eyes, breaking her out of her reverie, and she turned to face the source. Seems like Nobunaga had been trying to get her attention for awhile now. "What do you think?"

She lowered her eyebrows at him, picking up her glass to drain the remainder of her beverage. It was watery now, the ice having melted some time ago. "About what?"

He smirked at her. "You really are a lot like him…" His eyes grew brighter as he repeated, "I said, you should join the Ryodan."

She almost spit out her drink. She managed not to do that, but it still went down the wrong pipe. It took her a moment of loud, vigorous coughing to recover her voice. "N-No," she refused once she was able. 

"You can have Uvogin's spot," Nobunaga continued, as if he hadn't heard her. Gon guessed he was referring to his deceased comrade. "I convinced Danchou not to fill the position until we found someone worthy of it." He looked at her expectantly. "So what do you say?"

"Join us, Gon~" Hisoka chimed in from behind the swordsman, and she felt her lips press in a tight line.

Well, Gon supposed she should feel somewhat flattered, since Nobunaga obviously thought very highly of his best friend, and then he was comparing Gon to him. This night had taken a very strange turn, that was for sure. Fraternizing with the enemy felt sort of wrong, but at the same time it had gotten the young girl to understand that they -- meaning her and her friends -- had more in common with their enemies than she previously had thought.

She wondered if her newfound sympathy for the enemy might affect her ability to fight against them, in subsequent skirmishes. She hoped not. It was so much easier to think of them just as bad people, immoral and indecent. To see some similarity between the Ryodan and her group of friends was… unsettling, to say the least.

The two Spiders were still staring at her, waiting for an answer. She placed her emptied glass back on the counter, then closed her eyes, turning away. "I'm afraid that's impossible -- "

"You're from reinforcement, aren't you?" Nobunaga cut her off, referring to her nen type. Her eyes snapped open, her lips parted in surprise. How did he know? Or was it a lucky guess? But he'd sounded so sure --

Nobunaga hiked his thumb back towards his colleague, who smiled at her winningly. "Hisoka's got it down to a science. Nen type boils down to personality, that's all. You've got that same simple, honest purity that Uvo had. A strong fighting spirit." Gon balked at the analysis. Was she really that easy to read? "He was reinforcement too. Join us," he pressed her. "You and I could take missions together… it would be just like old times." The swordsman's voice grew wistful again, and his eyes got misty with a far-off look.

"I really can't -- " 

"And besides," he refocused on her. Apparently the guy had selective hearing, he wasn't acknowledging her refusals at all. "We need a girl like you on our team. You'd make things much more interesting. Our female colleagues are so dull."

At this point in the conversation, Hisoka frowned. Though he hadn't spoken much, he was following alongside their discussion with interest. "That's not true," the magician countered, lowering his drink from his lips, and Nobunaga leveled him with a stare that said otherwise. 

"Of course it's true." He began to enumerate on his fingers. "Starting with Machi, you know how she is. She won't give anyone the time of day, besides maybe Danchou, and that's only because she feels a sense of loyalty towards him."

"Ah!" Hisoka's expression had lightened somewhat at the mention of this female. "That's what makes her so cute though~ And her abilities are so very impressive," Hisoka purred, licking his lips. 

Nobunaga just stared at him, without a trace of amusement. "That's a lost cause, you know that right? You've got an ice cube's chance in hell with her."

"But that's what makes it fun." Hisoka was undeterred. "The chase is the best part~" 

The swordsman just shook his head, perhaps reminding himself that his colleague was a sadist. "Anyways, there's also Shizuku. But she forgets everything. Even though she's been with the gang for years now, she still can't remember some of our names."

"And finally there's Pakunoda." Nobunaga lifted a third finger, completing his enumeration. "Paku doesn't seem to care much about anything or anyone…" His expression grew a bit devious. "Except for Danchou, of course."

"Of course she cares about him," Hisoka said airily, giving body to the vague implication, "since they're sleeping together."

Gon didn't know how she felt about being basically a bystander to this gossip about her rival gang. It was sort of interesting, in a morbid way. At least she figured, it was always useful to gather information about one's enemies. She sort of doubted that meaningless gossip would ever give her and her friends an edge over the Ryodan but then again, you never know. Weirder things have happened.

But upon hearing about her enemies' … um, romantic activities with each other, Gon felt her face flush. Collecting information was good, but this was perhaps more than she'd bargained for. Her companions didn't seem the least bit abashed. They continued to discuss the topic shamelessly.

"Too bad it's so one-sided," Hisoka said, and there was genuine sympathy in his tone.

Nobunaga hummed in agreement. "I wonder if Danchou would have agreed to it, if Paku didn't look like  _ her _ ."

The magician pulled a face. "They don't look that much alike. Besides the fact that they're both blonde."

"Apparently that's reason enough for him…" 

Gon narrowed her eyes. She had been playing with her empty glass while eavesdropping, but now her hands stilled. The conversation had taken a strange turn, and it struck a chord against her intuition. "Blonde hair?" she echoed. "Does your boss have a thing for blondes or something?" 

Both males turned to her, their eyebrows raised. "You haven't noticed?"

Their shared reaction made her a bit uneasy. "… Notice what?"

Nobunaga and Hisoka exchanged a glance. "Well yeah, I guess you could say he has a thing for blondes," Nobunaga agreed. "But it would be more accurate to say that he has a thing for  _ your _ boss."

Gon just stared at them, waiting for them to burst into laughter or say 'got you!' or something. When they did none of these things, she choked out, "You're kidding, right?"

The two males didn't bat an eyelash, their expressions were completely serious. "He's been trying to get with her for years now. Ever since her little friend died -- "

Gon had turned pale and the gears were meshing unevenly in her brain, but she still had half a mind to defend Kurapika's lost clansman. "Don't talk about Pairo." She cut him off. "As a member of the Ryodan, you have no right."

Nobunaga frowned at her, but he obliged. "Kuroro is madly in love with your boss. She knows about it too, he's confessed to her before. Probably dozens of times." When Gon continued to stare at him uncomprehendingly, he began to fidget. "Don't look at me like that," he said to her. "I think it's weird too."

"I don't," Hisoka voiced his two cents. "The heart wants what it wants~ There's no rhyme or reason to it."

Gon tuned them out for a moment as the two males started to argue about whether or not Kuroro's fixation with Kurapika was abnormal. The swordsman had claimed that Kurapika knew about Kuroro's affections towards her and, by the way he said it, seems like she's known about it for awhile now. Gon had no idea… so there were some things which the blonde still kept from her closest friends.

The young Hunter thought about Killua and his true identity -- an assassin who had been hired to kill her. She hadn't told either of her best friends about that yet. She supposed it was only fair, even the closest friends were certainly allowed to keep secrets from each other.

In this case especially, Gon could bet that Kurapika had kept this piece of information from them because she didn't want her friends to get tied up in something that would further complicate things with the Spiders. Gon was absolutely certain that Kurapika hadn't told Leorio about this either. Leorio would only worry, and perhaps even confront Kuroro if he knew that the leader of their rival gang had been making advances on his girlfriend for, what sounded like a long time now.

Still, Gon felt that it might have been better for Kurapika to tell them. This meant she was a target to Kuroro in more ways than one. That was dangerous. And not only that but… this was not just some meaningless piece of gossip. This was a piece of information that could be used to turn the tables on their rivalry, if the need ever arose.

"Yo, Hunter." Nobunaga was trying to get her attention again. Was she really spacing out this much? She eyed the empty glass which sat before her on the counter. The alcohol might be having an effect on her now. She resolved not to order another drink tonight.

"Yeah?"

"Does Kuroro have a chance with your boss or no? I say no, but Hisoka thinks he might."

Gon pulled a face. "Definitely not," she dismissed the magician's prediction easily, and Nobunaga gave his gangmate a gloating look. "She has a boyfriend, they've been dating for three years now."

But that… didn't seem to impress the two Spiders at all. They fixed her with this expression that spoke clearly for itself: so what? Gon had to remind herself that Kuroro was the head of a  _ criminal _ organization. Of course he wouldn't care about something as trivial as Kurapika already having a boyfriend. That wouldn't deter him.

The corollary to that though, was that Leorio didn't matter. And that implication made Gon mad.

"Other than that," Gon continued, anger lacing her voice, "there's the obvious fact that she hates him. She blames him entirely for what happened to Pairo. I don't think she'll ever forgive him for it."

Nobunaga and Hisoka exchanged a look, and then Hisoka said, "It wasn't Kuroro who killed her little friend though."

Gon leveled him with a serious stare, daring him to say more. That was something which the Ryodan had kept secret from Kurapika all this time -- which member of the Ryodan had committed the actual murder? Or perhaps more than one of them had had their hand in it. Gon held her breath, waiting for the magician to speak.

To her disappointment, he didn't say anything else so Gon had to prompt him. "Why would he take responsibility then? Why cover up someone else's mess? It would only do him harm." It really didn't make any sense to Gon, since she still believed that the members of the Ryodan were selfish, their only motivations being their own personal benefit. What she knew of their gang activities, all signs pointed to this conclusion.

"Well, I guess he wanted to protect the ones who actually did it," Hisoka said thoughtfully, and Gon felt her mood darken further.

"I don't believe you. That guy? Doing something for someone else's protection?" Gon narrowed her eyes at the magician. "Don't make me laugh."

"You don't know Kuroro's full story." Nobunaga regarded her evenly, his eyes hard to read. "Nor do you know how the Genei Ryodan got started."

"Oh?" Gon crossed her arms, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. "Tell me then."

They locked eyes, and he evaluated her for a moment before sighing, obliging her. "The original members of the gang, there were  seven of us. We all came from Meteor City." Nobunaga took a pause, surveying her reaction. Gon only tilted her head at him, confused. "You've never heard of Meteor City?" His face scrunched up. "What's with that, were you raised under a rock?"

Gon frowned at the somewhat rude wording of the question. "No, I was raised on Whale Island."

It was Nobunaga's turn to stare at her dumbly. "Whale Island? Where the hell is that?"

"It's a small fishing outpost, pretty far from here -- "

He waved off her further explanation. "Under a rock then, that's fine." Gon pouted but she didn't protest. Whale Island  _ was _ kind of in the middle of nowhere, she couldn't deny that. "Well if you're going to know anything about Meteor City, kid, just know that the place is a hellhole. Anyone who grows up there, grows up without a family. Most people lose their parents before they learn how to walk. It's a lawless wasteland, the place is literally a junkyard." Gon winced, the picture his words were painting was not a pretty one.

"To grow up in a place like that and survive, that's not an easy thing to do," Nobunaga continued, and his gaze was far away, like he had returned to the place of his birth, recalling the difficult times he lived through there. "Kuroro sought us out, me and five others, and we formed the Ryodan together. For us, with no family to call our own, the gang became our family. I know all of us feel that way, that sense of loyalty has become woven into the fabric of our organization. Even the members who joined after the gang was founded, they share the same creed as us." Nobunaga glanced at Hisoka, but the magician offered no comment. The swordsman didn't seem bothered by his comrade's apathy, he just added, "No one feels that sense of loyalty stronger than Kuroro does."

Gon swallowed. This was bad. This was really bad, she was starting to have some seriously conflicted feelings towards her sworn enemies. On the one hand, they did horrible things, acting out as if they were constantly above the law, not giving a damn about the lives or welfare of others. But on the other hand, they were still human, still capable of forming bonds with each other. And, the way Nobunaga put it, sounds like there was a reason why they acted the way they did. The world had been against them from the start, planting a seed of bitterness in their hearts the very moment they were born. Gon understood this immediately, because this was one of her strongest points -- her ability to understand and empathize with others, especially in the context of their backgrounds.

"So what?" she asked, and to her dismay her voice shook a little. "That doesn't make Kuroro a good person. It doesn't change the fact that he's done bad things."

"Well sure." The swordsman scratched the back of his head. "But I didn't want you to get the wrong idea, that he killed your boss' friend and then tried to seduce her. He's not  _ that _ kind of a person," Nobunaga said, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

"I see nothing wrong with it," Hisoka offered. "In fact, if someone did that to get my attention, I'd be flattered~"

Gon suppressed a shudder. The members of the Ryodan were all a bit weird, but Hisoka was in a classification of his own.

After polishing off his pint of beer, Nobunaga said, "But your boss knows all of this already. Kuroro told her the full story when shit went down two years ago."

"Yeah," Gon mumbled, "and apparently it didn't move her at all. There's not an ounce of sympathy in her heart for him, and there never has been. Kuroro has a better chance trying to get with her boyfriend, honestly." This earned her a laugh from the swordsman.

"We'll see. If Kuroro is anything, he's certainly persistent." The comment somehow resembled a threat.

"Isn't that a conflict of interest though?" Gon started fiddling with her empty glass again. The bartender was eyeing her, but she didn't notice, her attention all caught up in the conversation. He probably wanted to know if she wanted another refill, or else he would take his glass back. "I mean, aren't you worried he could sell you guys out or something? If he really likes Kurapika… that much." Ugh, Gon resisted the urge to gag at the very idea that Kuroro was in love with the one person who hated him more than all the bad things in the world put together. 

Nobunaga just looked at her haughtily. "Danchou has more spine than that. He'd never betray us, even for the Kurta." He continued in a softer voice, "Like I said, we're his family and he's ours!"

Okay, this was not okay. Gon felt an uncomfortable sensation settle between her ribs. She'd better get out of here fast. Nobunaga was saying things that Gon would say about her own group of friends. Being honest with herself, she actually found herself liking the swordsman quite a bit. Maybe in another life, they could have been friends.

"Well, this has been a really… interesting evening," she said with forced lightness, trying a smile that felt weird on her face. Yeah, she had always been a terrible liar. "But I should get back. You know, there's things to do, textbooks to read…" That's right, she had her first test of the week tomorrow, second period. What time was it right now? She might have to stay up all night to cram. The thought made her heart sink. "The homework won't do itself," she finished miserably.

"Kid." The serious note in Nobunaga's voice got her to look at him. "I really meant it when I said you should join us." She opened her mouth to protest for what felt like the hundredth time, but then he said something which derailed that train of thought. "I'll give you one test and if you pass, I'll invite you for real. I'll recommend you to Danchou tomorrow."

She still didn't like the idea of joining the Spiders but the mention of a test sort of piqued her curiosity. "A test?"

"Yeah. A friendly little competition." The swordsman began to roll up his sleeve. "If you win, I'll even buy you a drink too."

Competition? The rational part of Gon's mind was telling her to walk away from the situation. She really did have to study… but the promise of a competition was one that Gon really couldn't turn down, no matter how much the reasonable part of her urged her to. Her blood felt warmer, quicker in her veins. "Fine," she said shortly. "What is it?"

Nobunaga grinned at the fighting spirit which had ignited in her eyes. He placed his bare elbow on the counter, holding his hand out to her. "Arm wrestling."

Gon eyed his hand suspiciously, but she was already moving her empty glass aside. The bartender snatched it up promptly. "With nen or without?"

"You think you can beat me without it, kid?" He let out a bark of laughter. "You're an interesting one, that's for sure. But I want to see what you're made of. With nen." He beckoned her with his raised hand, "Come." She clasped her right hand with his, placing her left on the countertop to mirror her opponent's posture. Since they were sitting on stools, the angle was a bit awkward. She figured she actually had a slight advantage over the swordsman, because of the fact that they were using their right hands and because he was sitting to her right. She pointed out this potential inequity to him. Even if he was an enemy, fair was fair. Gon would never allow herself to cheat a win.

"That's fine with me." Nobunaga grinned at her. "You'll need the handicap." And Gon felt aggression flare in her stomach at the goad. The swordsman tightened his grip on her fingers and she reciprocated, tensing up. "Ready?"

Behind the tense figure of her opponent, Hisoka was watching her with great interest, his yellow, predatory eyes half-lidded with excitement. She tried to ignore him as best she could, not needing the uncomfortable distraction. She nodded at the swordsman. "Whenever you are."

His jaw clenched and she tightened her shoulder in anticipation. "Go!"

Nobunaga was undoubtedly strong. Gon felt that he might even be a reinforcement type, like herself. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple as they fought for dominance, then stalemated, her fist a little closer to the countertop than his. Her left elbow pressed against the hard, uncompromising surface of the bar, seeking purchase where there was none. Her opponent glowered at her darkly, grinning through clenched teeth as he observed her exertion. "Is that all you've got, Hunter? Maybe I was wrong about you after all. You'll have to do better than this if you want Uvo's spot."

Gon didn't particularly 'want Uvo's spot' but she despised his insinuation, that she was weak. She felt her ten flare just slightly at his remark, and the smirk on his face disappeared as their fists leveled out. "Good," he gritted out. "Show me what you've got."

Her damaged shoulder was starting to ache now, with how much pressure she was putting on it as she sought to leverage her strength. The pain somehow brought to mind a certain silver-haired boy. Since she was in the heat of competition, she didn't really picture Killua's face or anything concrete. But somehow the twinge on her shoulder served to remind her of him, like a whisper or suggestion. And somehow she felt her resolve strengthen.

Killua wouldn't like to see her lose to such a person. She could already imagine the teasing remarks, and his voice took shape in her head. "Gon! Is that really the best you can do? I could beat this guy easily, you know."

"I know," she answered the phantom voice out loud, and Nobunaga furrowed his brows at her, confused at the remark which seemed to come out of nowhere. But she felt strength flowing through her veins as she imagined Killua's encouragement, replacing the sore feeling of lactic acid accumulating in her bicep. Her fingers were locked in Nobunaga's now, a bone-crushing grip, as she slowly but surely ate away at the space under his knuckles. With a final burst of effort, she knocked the back of his hand to the counter, then immediately she heaved a sigh of relief, slouching a bit as she allowed the tension to leave her body. "I would never allow such a person to beat me," she mumbled, a little smile on her tired lips.

Nobunaga apparently thought she had said this to him. He blinked at her in surprise, both from her remark and the fact that he lost, and then he let out a delighted whoop, waving the bartender over as he slung his arm around her neck, jostling her good-naturedly. Gon blushed at the strange, unexpected show of affection from the older student. She couldn't find the heart to push him away, even if he was acting a bit drunk. Ah hell, she probably was too now that she thought about it. She didn't want to order the same tropical drink she'd been having all night. She glanced at the card of specials which sat nearby on the counter, then pointed to a drink which was the same color of Killua's eyes. That definitely wasn't the reason why she picked it though.

Nobunaga asked for the charge to be put on his tab, while he ordered another pint for himself. Only when the bartender started busying himself with their orders did Gon suddenly remember, she had resolved herself not to drink anymore.

Well, one more wouldn't hurt anyway. Probably.

As she waited for their drinks to arrive, she couldn't help but notice that more people had started to show up. Even though it was a school night. Huh, maybe it was setting in, the realization that everyone was going to be screwed over by exams for the next five days. She could see how resigned everyone's face looked as they filed in through the door, their postures slumped from dejection. When a glass of something pretty and blue appeared beside her elbow, she raised it in a silent toast to the shared plight of her fellow students before taking a long swig of the drink. It tasted good, kind of like… cherries? She would have to get Killua to try this some time.

"Gon." The single syllable was uttered in a way that made her spine tingle, and she slowly turned to Hisoka, who hadn't taken his eyes off of her since her match with Nobunaga had begun. "You didn't forget about me, did you?" he crooned in a voice like velvet, soft and cruel. His yellow eyes were practically glowing now, and bloodlust radiated off of him in restrained pulses, like he was holding back.

Gon narrowed her eyes at him, though it was less because of his aggression and more because she was having trouble picking out his words amidst the background noise of the growing crowd. Damn, she was definitely buzzed now, if not more. Still, the alcohol was like liquid courage, daring her to be even more reckless than she already was. She took another long swig from her glass, taking a piece of ice into her mouth. "What do you want?" she answered him, biting around the cold, foreign object trapped between her teeth.

"I just want to play a bit as well~" She bit down, and the ice cube shattered into splinters against her palate. "Another arm wrestling match, against me this time." His tongue swept across his lips and she shivered. Her intuition screamed at her to run now, to refuse. "I'll also buy you a drink if you win."

She didn't care much about the wager, but the allure of a challenge was to her as a siren's call was to the fishermen of Whale Island. "Fine." She relocated, taking her drink with her as she clambered up onto the stool to Hisoka's right. Nobunaga cheered her on, pumping his fist in the air while his other hand grasped the handle of his pint. Yeah, the guy was totally smashed now. Well on the bright side, he had stopped insisting that she joined the Spiders. She allowed herself to give him a small smile. She did like Nobunaga. He was part of the Ryodan, but he wasn't a bad guy.

Hisoka held his hand out to her, patiently waiting. Her palm met his and she realized, as she stared into his hungry eyes, that his gaze was completely steady. The guy wasn't inebriated at all, and this set off another warning bell in Gon's mind, though the alarm was faint from her own inebriated state. She felt her head pounding with excitement as Hisoka's long fingers curled around hers, his nails sharp and pointed, pressing dangerously into the flesh at the back of her hand. She swallowed.

"Ready then, little one?" He smirked at her.

"On your word."

"How generous. Ready, set --  _ go _ ."

Well, Hisoka's reputation wasn't for nothing. Gon felt herself struggle weakly against the magician's tremendous strength, and the action felt strange. The alcohol had made her feel like someone else was controlling her body, and she was just watching as an observer. "Little one, is that the best you can do?" Hisoka didn't sound out the least bit winded. "Don't disappoint me, Gon~" 

The taunt sharpened her focus, if only momentarily, and she pushed back harder against him. She hadn't been using nen up to this point. They never agreed to any rules before starting the match, but there was no way she could win without reinforcing her arm. That much was already painfully obvious. She used ko on her bicep and she felt Hisoka react to her, his own upper arm tensing up. He still wasn't using his own nen however, his expression quite smooth as he countered her strength easily with his own.

It was pretty obvious, he was only playing with her at this point. When she pushed against him harder, he met her halfway with the same amount of strength. It was futile, trying to win in this way against the redhead. But if Gon was anything, she was two things -- one, stubborn and two, she hated losing.

Eyebrows set at deep angles, hanging over her blazing, amber eyes, she gave the match everything she had. Hisoka matched her push for push, finally using some nen when she began to get particularly frustrated. She felt like she was competing against a wall, that's how uncompromising Hisoka's strength was.

"Damn it!" She finally had no way to vent her frustration except vocally, clenching her eyes shut in the desperation she felt. To win, she wanted to win. Perspiration slid down her cheeks as she struggled, rationality flying out the window in exchange for sheer willpower. 

"That's enough." Gon's eyes snapped open as she felt her opponent's grip slacken instantaneously. With her reaction time delayed as it was, she was unable to hold back as the force of her uncontested strength smashed Hisoka's hand against the hard surface of the counter. She blinked at the sight of her palm above his, confused by what she was seeing. The alcohol again? Was it playing tricks on her judgement?

Her focus went to her opponent's face; he was staring at her with a half-crazed look in his golden orbs. "You've done well." He untangled his slender digits from hers, then raised his knuckles to his mouth, licking the blood from the wound caused by the force of impact. "Your progress is…" His tongue swept along the four ridges of his hand, dyeing the pink appendage crimson. Gon winced at the obscenity of the gesture. "Remarkable." His yellow eyes darkened to gold and his bloodlust was radiating off in waves now. The young girl felt her own bloodlust spike in interest -- a response, though she knew it was foolish.

"You let me win?" she asked him, her own tongue feeling thick in her throat. To Gon, the idea of being handed a win was far, far worse than losing. The two were incomparable really.

"I only wanted to test your strength myself." Hisoka waved the bartender over again and ordered Gon her promised refill, though she didn't touch the drink when it came, her mood still dark. "Come, Gon," Hisoka implored her in that deceptively smooth voice of his, "don't be upset. Be a good sport, won't you?" His left hand, which remained flat against the counter after their match ended, now balled into a tight fist. "Or would you like to have a rematch?" Gon stared at him, not blinking. Her gaze was deadly serious. "A proper fight? I promise," he bared his teeth at her in a wicked grin, "I won't hold back this time~" 

Nobunaga was no longer paying them much attention, he was talking loudly to some student who had taken Gon's old seat. The background ambience of the bar was hazy to Gon, barely registering as she felt the all too familiar sensation of epinephrine coursing through her bloodstream, an addiction she couldn't rid herself of.

"Yeah," she said evenly, not taking her eyes off her adversary for a second. "Let's take this outside."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger-ish ending... =u=;


End file.
